Definition of "shambolic"

[O]ne must admit there were those among us who were somewhat on the shambolic side.

1952 April, The Tank‎, volume 34, number 396, London, page 231

He said his club had coined a new word 'Shambolic,' which meant spending more time watching the weather than playing.

1958 December 5, “'Pavilion Would Help Clubs'”, in West Sussex County Times‎, Horsham, page 6

The precautionary principle is a culturally framed concept that takes its cue from changing social conceptions about the appropriate roles of science, economics, ethics, politics and the law in pro-active environmental protection and management. As this book will reveal, it is a rather shambolic concept, muddled in policy advice and subject to the whims of international diplomacy and the unpredictable public mood over the true cost of sustainable living.

1994, Timothy O'Riordan, James Cameron, “The History and Contemporary Significance of the Precautionary Principle”, in Tim O'Riordan, James Cameron, editors, Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, London: Earthscan, page 12

The pub was empty of all but the most dedicated drinkers, shambolic figures huddled over bottles.

2000, China Miéville, Perdido Street Station, London: Macmillan Publishers, page 24

The shabby subterfuge surrounding Suez [the Suez Crisis], as much as its shambolic aftermath, have made it a symbol of the collapse of British global power in the post-war era.

2013, Philip Murphy, “Winds of Change and the Royal Family”, in Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 66

During normal times, distribution of goods or services to over 7,000 islands [in the Philippines] is difficult, and the reality is that on a day-to-day basis, it's shambolic. There are too many examples of corruption and inefficiency.

2014 October 22, Graham Michael Barton, “Distribution”, in Show Me the Money: Where Did All the Aid and Money Go after Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines November 2013, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, page 5

New train introduction had become shambolic with extended delays - mainly due to repeated software issues, seriously late deliveries, and gauging problems.

2020 May 6, Sir Michael Holden, “Time for our industry's leaders to rise to the challenge”, in Rail, page 28

Donald Trump’s tax returns illustrate the profound inequities of the tax code and the shambolic state of federal enforcement.

2020 September 28, New York Times Editorial Board, “The Picture of a Broken Tax System”, in New York Times‎