in shambles

in (a) shambles

Completely destroyed or wrecked. Oh, the event preparations are in a shambles now that the caterer's quit. Many years of neglect have left the house in shambles.
See also: shambles
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in (a) shambles

Fig. in a messy state; destroyed. After the earthquake, the town lay in shambles. The TV set was in a shambles after John tried to fix it.
See also: shambles
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • in (a) shambles
  • shambles
  • in ruins
  • be in ruins
  • ruin
  • wrecked
  • lie in ruins
  • quit over
  • quit (one's) bellyaching
References in periodicals archive
DC said that the said buildings were in shambles and they were crumbling with the big cracks in the walls and even in the roofs of the offices.
The ancient Sialkot Municipal Corporation, forest department offices, District Council offices, which were in shambles, now in a dire need of their urgent repairing or reconstruction to avert any untoward incident, in this regard.
The palace and its grounds are in shambles, waiting expectantly for a messiah to save the day.
RAWALPINDI -- The areas of the Cantonment Board are in shambles due to the negligence of the authorities to clean the mess up.
The sanitation and cleanliness system is also in shambles and the entire area is giving the look of a garbage dump.
London, Oct 23 ( ANI ): Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed in his autobiography that United was beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League in 2009 because their hotel in Rome was 'in shambles'.
The Scot said that the hotel was in shambles, adding that they were in a room with no light, the food was late and cold.
On 14th Avenue, UO senior Luke Ross had only been gone two days when a roommate returned to Eugene to find their apartment in shambles.
As of this writing, the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority is in shambles, the future of the Authority's leader, Yasser Arafat is uncertain, and in a piece of symbolism strong enough to evoke tears, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Christ, is under siege.
One attempt to boost morale ended in shambles when Brannan was held responsible for a Full Monty-style staff night.