in disorder; scattered about in a mess
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
in complete disorder; scattered about in a mess; lying crisscross
informalUsed to describe things (often objects, sometimes abstract things like thoughts) that are scattered in all directions without any order. The idiom's literal meaning refers to some things lying horizontally (横) and others standing vertically (竖), representing a lack of neat arrangement.
Dì地
shàng上
héng横
qī七
shù竖
bā八
de地
duī堆
fàng放
zhe着
gè各
zhǒng种
nóng农
jù具
。
All sorts of farm tools were scattered about on the ground in a mess.
Tā他
lèi累
huài坏
le了
，
yī一
huí回
dào到
jiā家
jiù就
héng横
qī七
shù竖
bā八
de地
dǎo倒
zài在
shā沙
fā发
shàng上
。
He was exhausted and collapsed haphazardly on the sofa as soon as he got home.
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Gāng刚
dǎ打
wán完
zhàng仗
，
zhàn战
chǎng场
shàng上
héng横
qī七
shù竖
bā八
de地
tǎng躺
zhe着
shì士
bīng兵
de的
shī尸
tǐ体
。
Just after the battle, the soldiers' corpses lay scattered in all directions across the battlefield.
Bié别
bǎ把
wán玩
jù具
héng横
qī七
shù竖
bā八
de地
rēng扔
zài在
kè客
tīng厅
lǐ里
。
Don't throw your toys around haphazardly in the living room.