Shambolic Riot at Store Opening

(London, England) Last night at midnight local time, managers opened the doors to a brand new Ikea Furniture Superstore and more than 6,000 people charged in. Several people were injured in the rush, including one stabbing, and it was reported that security personnel fled the scene. With the situation out of control, the managers decided to close the doors after only 30 minutes.

This story has been given quite a bit of press and, frankly, I don't think it should have been. Cheap prices advertised for desirable products will produce a flood of customers every time and it does all the time in the U.S. Maybe it's because this event happened in England as opposed to the U.S. that makes it newsworthy.

Nevertheless, according to one report, shopper Merrison Gittens, 48, said, "It was awful to see what was happening. It was absolutely shambolic. A lot of the security men just ran away."

That's not a typo and I haven't been able to find 'shambolic' nor 'shambol' in any of my dictionaries. Maybe it's a colloquialism.