hurly-burly

[hur-lee-bur-lee, -bur-] /ˈhɜr liˈbɜr li, -ˌbɜr-/
noun, plural hurly-burlies.
1.
noisy disorder and confusion; commotion; uproar; tumult.
adjective
2.
full of commotion; tumultuous.
Origin
1520-30; alteration of hurling (and) burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in its (now obsolete) sense of tumult, uproar
Examples from the web for hurly-burly
  • Amid the hurly-burly, the only thing that's clear is the future, where hydrogen beckons.
British Dictionary definitions for hurly-burly

hurly-burly

/ˈhɜːlɪˈbɜːlɪ/
noun (pl) hurly-burlies
1.
confusion or commotion
adjective
2.
turbulent
Word Origin
C16: from earlier hurling and burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in obsolete sense of uproar
Word Origin and History for hurly-burly

also hurlyburly, 1530s, apparently an alteration of phrase hurling and burling, reduplication of 14c. hurling "commotion, tumult," verbal noun of hurl (q.v.). Hurling time was the name applied by chroniclers to the period of tumult and commotion around Wat Tyler's rebellion.