shemozzle
/ʃɪˈmɒzəl/
"shemozzle" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shemozzle” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A state of chaos or confusion.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shemozzle · shemozzle · English
shemozzle · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shemozzle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ʃɪˈmɒzəl/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shemozzle” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
shemozzle is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʃɪˈmɒzəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
shemozzle has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: UK late-19th century. Borrowed from Yiddish שלימזל (shlimazl, “misfortune”), from Middle High German slim (“crooked”) and Hebrew מַזָּל (mazzāl, “luck”). Cognate with US English schlimazel (“unlucky person”). Compare German Schlamassel. The correct English form is shemozzle, spelled S-H-E-M-O-Z-Z-L-E.
Definition
- 1A state of chaos or confusion.
- 2A quarrel or rumpus.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shemozzle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"No end of a shemozzle there’s been there lately," he said. "Marina Gregg's been having hysterics most days. Said some coffee she was given was poisoned."
I always found it helpful that we retained one elderly member of staff who could offer a different perspective. “Well,” he would begin, “the last time we had one of these shemozzles…”. The mere fact that he could remember past disasters – and had lived to tell the tale – was reassuring.
Etymology
UK late-19th century. Borrowed from Yiddish שלימזל (shlimazl, “misfortune”), from Middle High German slim (“crooked”) and Hebrew מַזָּל (mazzāl, “luck”). Cognate with US English schlimazel (“unlucky person”). Compare German Schlamassel.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.