One word for "Wild Wild West" - not the movie!

Question

I'd like to capture the spirit of the phrase "the Wild Wild West" in one word, if possible. For instance "As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see everything change to --a scene much like the Wild Wild West---".

I would like to capture the feeling of chaos or frenzy, violence or danger, and lawlessness. What would you suggest?

You mean a lot of people shooting one another, or a lot of horse dung, or olde-fashioned dresses on women, or a cattle stampede, or what? — John Lawler, Aug 14 '14 at 17:16
Extremely closely related: http://english.stackexchange.com/q/22251 — tchrist, Aug 14 '14 at 17:20
Also tangentially related: http://english.stackexchange.com/q/134760 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/41798 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/164561 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/143782 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/62289 — tchrist, Aug 14 '14 at 17:40
Wild Wild West is a television series and a film. Surely you are referring to the Wild West, referring to those times and places in American frontier territories where settlement had begun but over which there was no law enforcement or other effective government presence. — choster, Aug 14 '14 at 18:50
Wild west doesn't seem as wild as Wild, Wild west ... which is double the wild? When I think of just "wild west", I think of cowboys and stuff but not the lawlessness and shoot-outs.
Thank you for the previous questions/answers but I am looking for a "world of chaos and discord"...something more close to Hell itself. — unclepete, Aug 14 '14 at 19:11

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 14 '14 at 18:15

A word that is sometimes associated with the wild, wild west is "untamed" since historically, the far western regions of the continental United States were the last to settle down and become a civilized society. It took time, people and resources to build up the frontier with cities, citizenry and infrastructure, so initially, it was a combination of intrepid adventurers and even people seeking to live in a place with fewer laws and societal constraints that helped create the reputation of the "wild, wild west".

"The Untamed West" is a book title of three short novels written by the most iconic names in western lore: Zane Gray, Max Brand and Louis L'Amour

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:12

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From dictionary.com...

bedlam - a scene or state of wild uproar and confusion.
(Archaic, an insane asylum or madhouse.)

answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:12

FumbleFingers

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This is super close to what I have in mond, I don't think it can get closer? – unclepete Aug 14 '14 at 19:07
I am selecting this, but I think the word I was looking for was "pandemonium", or something similar to "bedlam" that would describe a chaotic scenery like Hell – unclepete Aug 14 '14 at 20:13
Googling define bedlam pandemonium shows that each of those words frequently figures in definitions of the other. – FumbleFingers Aug 14 '14 at 20:24
Bedlam derives from the name of a London hospital so thinking of it as capturing “the spirit of the phrase "the Wild Wild West" in one word” is dumbfounding! – James Waldby - jwpat7 Aug 15 '14 at 13:14
@jwpat7: I assume OP is actually focussed on a feeling of chaos or frenzy, violence or danger, and lawlessness, and that the Wild West is just one possible metaphoric reference (which for some reason he doesn't want to use, or he wouldn't be asking for an alternative). – FumbleFingers Aug 15 '14 at 13:27
I agree that's the gist of the second paragraph of the question ~ so its two paragraphs are somewhat at odds with each other – James Waldby - jwpat7 Aug 15 '14 at 13:29
@jwpat7: Yeah - I almost closevoted as Too Broad rather than answering. But OP's comments above do at least suggest I had the right idea about what kind of word he was looking for, even if the question text itself isn't particularly clear on that point. – FumbleFingers Aug 15 '14 at 13:46

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:45

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I think the word you want is "frontier. Placing it into your example sentence, "As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see everything change to a frontier scene--one much like the Wild Wild West---"

answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:45

brasshat

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This was my first thought too, but I'm not sure "frontier" necessarily has the same connotations of chaos, at least not when presented without modifiers. – Chris Sunami Aug 14 '14 at 17:47
I see your point, but it has those connotations for me. – brasshat Aug 14 '14 at 18:02

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:46

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As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see a world descended into anarchy.

Anarchy literally means without government, and thus is a good match for the "lawlessness" portion of your request, and additionally has connotations of chaos, violence and danger.

answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:46

Chris Sunami

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I think this one fits pretty closely! – unclepete Aug 14 '14 at 19:07

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 14 '14 at 17:36

Consider a Dodge City shootout. Dodge City, KS is “famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West” [wikipedia]. In the modern age, this image was reinforced by the 1939 film Dodge City. A review of that film at imdb.com says it inspired Mel Brook’s ‘Blazing Saddles’; you might also consider the phrase a Blazing Saddles shootout if that better fits your desired tone.

One word for "Wild Wild West" - not the movie!

5 Answers5