Omnishambles
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Omnishambles is a
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
first used in the BBC political satire ''
The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'' in 2009. The word is compounded from the Latin prefix ''omni-'', meaning "all", and the word ''shambles'', a term for a situation of total disorder. Originally a "
shambles Shambles is an obsolete term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. Shambles or The Shambles may also refer to: *The Shambles, a historic street in York, England *Shambles Square, Manchester, England *Shambles Glacier, Adelaide Island, A ...
" denoted the designated stock-felling and butchery zone of a medieval street market, from the butchers' benches (Latin ''scamillus'' "low stool, a little bench"). The word refers to a situation that is seen as shambolic from all possible perspectives. It gained popularity in 2012 after sustained usage in the political sphere led to its being named ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' Word of the Year, and it was formally added to the online editions of the ''
Oxford Dictionary of English The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'') is a single-volume English dictionary published by Oxford University Press, first published in 1998 as ''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''NODE''). The word "new" was dropped from the titl ...
'' in August 2013.


Background

The term, coined by writer
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche Order of Australia, AO Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagg ...
, was first used at the end of the first episode of the third series of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
political
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
''
The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'', broadcast in 2009, during which Nicola Murray (
Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...
) is drafted in as a
cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
for the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship at the behest of the government's
director of communications Director of communications is a position in both the private and public sectors. A director of communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. Directors of communications supervis ...
Malcolm Tucker (
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
). Murray's first day as a cabinet minister is fraught with press inquiries about her husband's involvement in a
private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...
contract, her appropriation of an expensive office chair from a staff member, and her intention to send her daughter to a
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
. Tucker sends Murray to launch a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
campaign, but a communications error results in her standing in front of candidate Liam Bentley's poster and blocking most of the letters so the sign appears to read "I am bent" (British slang that in this context means corrupt) as she is filmed and photographed. Tucker believes Murray to be a potential cause of political controversy, and his patience expires when it is revealed the minister is claustrophobic when she refuses to enter a
lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
. Tucker then delivers an angry rebuke to her:


Entry into popular lexicon

The term was popularised by Labour Party leader and
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
MP in a speech to the House of Commons during
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
on 18 April 2012, criticising the government's 2012 budget and the resulting public image: The term was again used in Parliament by Opposition politicians to criticise various government actions: by
Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (UK), Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham (UK Parliament constituency), Streatham from 2010 United Kingdom general election, ...
,
Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British broadcaster, writer, economist, professor and former politician who served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exc ...
,
Steve Rotheram Steven Philip Rotheram (born 4 November 1961) is a British Labour Party politician who is the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. He previously served as the MP for Liverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017. Rotheram was born in Liverpool an ...
,
Julie Hilling Julie Ann Hilling (born 29 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 2010 until 2015. Background Hilling was born in Oxford and lived there until the age of 9 when her famil ...
,
Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010. Born in Lewis ...
, and
Catherine McKinnell Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) is a British Labour politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since 2010. Early life McKinnell was born and raised in Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne, where she attended t ...
to criticise the budget;
Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...
to criticise the failed deportation of Abu Qatada; and
Ivan Lewis Ivan Lewis (born 4 March 1967) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South from 1997 to 2019, initially as a member of the Labour Party then as an independent from 2017. After serving in various ministerial ...
,
Margaret Curran Margaret Patricia Curran (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 to 2015 and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotl ...
, and
Caroline Flint Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet of the United Kingdom as Minister for Hous ...
in reference to the perceived ineffectualness of the government. It was adapted for use in Scottish politics by Labour MSP Richard Baker, who referred to First Minister
Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
's refusal to admit to a lack of legal advice on an independent Scotland's accession to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
as a "Scomnishambles". The term made its debut in Australian politics in 2013 during a reply to the Governor-General's speech by
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
Senator
Scott Ludlam Scott Ludlam (born 10 January 1970) is a New Zealand-born Australian former politician. A member of the Australian Greens, he was a senator in the Australian Senate from July 2008 to July 2017 and served as deputy leader of the Greens. Ludlam ...
. Due to its adoption as a political catchphrase, the editors of the ''
Collins English Dictionary The ''Collins English Dictionary'' is a printed and online dictionary of English. It is published by HarperCollins in Glasgow. The edition of the dictionary in 1979 with Patrick Hanks as editor and Laurence Urdang as editorial director, was ...
'' submitted the word for the dictionary's first public consultation into new additions, defining it as "something which is completely and continuously shambolic". In news coverage preceding the fourth series of ''The Thick of It'', use of the term was cited by the cast and crew as an example of
life imitating art Anti-mimesis is a philosophical position that holds the direct opposite of Aristotelian mimesis. Its most notable proponent is Oscar Wilde, who opined in his 1889 essay ''The Decay of Lying'' that, "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Lif ...
; in an interview with
ShortList A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...
, series co-writer Will Smith commented that politicians were "watching the show and embracing it", describing Miliband's use of the phrase as "baffling". A similar term, "Romneyshambles" was created as a political attack during the
2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...
, based on comments Republican Party nominee
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
made criticizing
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's preparations for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. On 13 November 2012, omnishambles was named Word of the Year by the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
''. Lexicographer and judge on the panel Fiona McPherson remarked that: "It was a word everyone liked, which seemed to sum up so many of the events over the last 366 days in a beautiful way." The word was formally added to the online editions of the ''
Oxford Dictionary of English The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'') is a single-volume English dictionary published by Oxford University Press, first published in 1998 as ''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''NODE''). The word "new" was dropped from the titl ...
'' in August 2013 together with a number of other words that had also gained popularity during 2012 and 2013. These included
selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as F ...
, twerk and
digital detox A digital detox is a period of time when a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices such as smartphones, computers, and social media platforms. This form of detoxification has gained popularity, as individuals have increased their t ...
. The term re-emerged following the
2017 United Kingdom general election The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing ...
, which produced a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
, and was used to describe
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
efforts to
form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...
a
confidence-and-supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of par ...
agreement with the
Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
. It was also used to describe the UK's
Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms for Brexit, the planned withdrawal of the UK from the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of the United ...
process following the 2017 election. The word "pomnishambles" ( Pom being an Australian derogatory word for an English person) was used by BBC writer Tom Fordyce (apparently quoting others) for the England men's cricket team and their lack of success against Australia in late 2017. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, the word re-emerged in late May (as "Domnishambles" - a portmanteau of
Dominic Cummings Dominic Mckenzie Cummings (born 25 November 1971) is a British political strategist who served as Chief Adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 24 July 2019 until Cummings resigned on 13 November 2020. From 2007 to 2014, he was a ...
' first name and the word omnishambles) as it was revealed that the government advisor Dominic Cummings had breached the lockdown imposed by the government to curb the virus.


References


External links

* {{wiktionary inline The Thick of It British political phrases Political neologisms 2012 in British politics