humpty-dumpty

noun

hump·​ty-dump·​ty

¦həm(p)tē¦dəm(p)tē,

-ti … ti

plural -es

often capitalized H&D

: something that once damaged can never be repaired or made operative again

the exchange crisis … that brought the Humpty-Dumpty of currency stabilization tumbling

—Atlantic

people fled into their suddenly Humpty-Dumpty world

—Robert O'Brien

Word History

Etymology

after Humpty-Dumpty, egg-shaped nursery-rhyme character who fell from a wall and broke into bits

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