in a right state
- idiom
- UK
:
en un estado desastroso
- After the party, the kitchen was in a right state and took hours to clean.
Examples
-
The garden is in a right state since it hasn't been tended to in weeks.
-
After the storm, the backyard was in a right state, with debris scattered everywhere.
-
She was in a right state after hearing the unexpected news.
-
The room was in a right state after the party.
-
Why is your car in a right state?
-
The children's playroom was in a right state after they finished their games.
-
Following the construction work, the living room was in a right state and needed a thorough cleaning.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A situation in which things are untidy and confused
438
3.1
A situation with no order where people are confused and cannot act normally
116
4.7
Not organized and full of confusion
31
3.7
A state in which things or places are not arranged
9
1.6
Something that is untidy and not in order
7
4.5
Not arranged in a clear or tidy way
4
4.5
A place or thing that is untidy and not in order
1
7.3
In a confused, messy way with no order
A situation with things all over and people confused
Antonyms
How Messy
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'state' does mean 'condition', the element 'right' here is an informal/regional intensifier (not 'correct'), so the phrase means 'in a bad/messy condition' rather than anything compositional. This dialectal, idiomatic use is misleading from the literal constituent meanings and would not be predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the individual words.
Etymology
In a right state may come from using right to mean 'completely' and state to mean a condition, so picture a room or a person in a total mess. That's why it now means 'in a messy or upset condition'.