All over the place?

Reader question:

Please explain “all over the place” in this sentence: Oil prices have been all over the place since the war started.

My comments:

Since the start of the war in late February, that is, the war referring to the Israeli-American war with Iran.

Since that war started, oil prices have been rising one day, perhaps falling a little the next day, rising sharply again the day after, so on and so forth.

Mostly rising, I should add, as proved by the following, per CBSNews.com:

“On May 25, 2026, the average cost of gas nationwide was $4.51 per gallon. That is $-0.01 lower than the day before, $0.42 higher than a month ago and $1.33 higher than a year ago.”

So, to sum up, oil prices have been volatile and out of control.

No one knows for sure what prices will be tomorrow or the next week, let alone next month.

Except, perhaps, that they will keep rising, so long as the war doesn’t end.

Hence, understandably, oil prices are described in our top example as “all over the place.”

All over the place?

We readily understand “all over the place” in the physical and literal sense, no problem. For example, an exasperated mom may talk about the messy room of her son this way:

“Dirty socks on the sofa, unwashed clothes all over the place. Oh, it’s such a mess.”

Hence, by extension, people use “all over the place” to describe any messy situation that is chaotic, disorderly, widespread and out of control.

For example, someone may say their head is all over the place. And that means something heavy is weighing on their mind, making them unable to stop thinking wild and terrible thoughts.

Or just random thoughts non-stop.

They cannot focus and think properly – not in any meaningful or coherent way.

And that’s point to remember about “all over the place” as an idiom, descriptive of something that is scattered, disorganized and in a generally confused state.

All right. Here are a few recent media examples:

1. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday Donald Trump's mocking comments about his marriage did not merit a response, calling them “neither elegant nor up to standard”.

But after days of tensions over US-Israeli strikes on Iran and over NATO, an apparently irritated Macron launched a broadside of his own, saying “there is too much talk” and “this is not a show”.

On Wednesday, Trump made fun of the French president and his wife at a private lunch as he lambasted NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran. The US president imitated a French accent and said that Macron’s wife “treats him extremely badly” and that Macron was still “recovering from the right to the jaw”.

On a visit to Seoul, Macron, who was accompanied by his wife Brigitte, said Trump’s comments were “neither elegant nor up to standard”.

“So I am not going to respond to them – they do not merit a response,” Macron told reporters.

The focus instead should be on “work towards de-escalation” in the Middle East and a ceasefire, Macron said.

“There is too much talk, and it’s all over the place,” the French president said, apparently referring to numerous policy U-turns by Trump.

“We all need stability, calm, a return to peace – this isn’t a show!” Macron said.

- Macron says Trump marriage jibe does not ‘merit response’, France24.com, April 2, 2026.

2. The New Orleans police detective who interrogated Cache Shelton after the December 2022 shooting death of her boyfriend, Nicolas Harrison, testified Tuesday that Shelton was “all over the place” as she repeatedly changed her account of what happened inside a downtown hotel room.

But Shelton’s defense attorney used the second day of her murder trial to argue that her core claim remained consistent: that she and Harrison were struggling over the gun when it fired.

The courtroom exchanges grew increasingly combative as New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams and defense attorney Kevin Boshea sparred during testimony from NOPD Detective Ryan St. Martin, who questioned Shelton in the hours after Harrison was shot in the forehead inside a Courtyard by Marriott hotel room on Julia Street.

Williams pressed St. Martin about Shelton’s shifting explanations, noting she first claimed Harrison shot himself before later describing a struggle over the gun.

He also argued that Harrison had been “asleep in bed, in his underwear” when Shelton told police she came in from a phone call in the bathroom and started “fussing and fighting,” with Shelton still fully dressed from a night out

“Did she ever explain how she could argue with a sleeping man?” Williams asked St. Martin

Shelton, now 30, is charged with second-degree murder. She has remained free on bond since January 2025, when Williams reopened the case after a WWL Louisiana investigation questioned why prosecutors had refused charges despite Shelton’s earlier arrest on suspicion of murder.

During Tuesday’s testimony, prosecutors called police officers, crime scene technicians, a forensic pathologist, a firearms examiner, a state crime lab DNA analyst, and the hotel manager in an effort to establish that Harrison was shot from at least a foot and a half or 2 feet away.

Responding officers testified they initially believed the shooting might have been a suicide because Shelton told them and a 911 operator that Harrison shot himself.

But officers said they became suspicious after seeing the bullet wound in Harrison’s forehead and inconsistencies in Shelton’s statements.

The crime scene technician testified that washing her hands could have destroyed critical evidence.

Jurors also watched an interrogation video showing Shelton removing fake fingernails before her hands were tested.

Technicians testified Harrison’s hands were bagged at the scene and tested negative for gunshot residue, evidence prosecutors argue suggests he did not fire the Glock .40-caliber pistol that killed him.

Still, the state’s forensic evidence stopped short of definitively ruling out the defense’s theory, and a DNA expert confirmed that both of their DNA was found on the gun.

The forensic pathologist who conducted Harrison’s autopsy testified that the manner of death was classified as “undetermined,” meaning homicide and suicide could not be conclusively distinguished.

- Detective: Woman ‘all over the place’ in shifting accounts of boyfriend’s shooting death, WWLTV.com, May 19, 2026.

3. Another Netflix series is officially coming to an end. While cancellations are nothing new in the streaming world, the reaction to this one has been surprisingly split. Usually fans either rally hard to save a show or collectively agree it’s time to wrap things up. But when it comes to The Night Agent, viewers seem completely divided.

On May 4, news broke that The Night Agent would conclude with a fourth and final season, which is already in production in Los Angeles. Honestly, getting a final season at all is kind of a win in the Netflix universe, where many shows disappear without much closure.

Based on Matthew Quirk’s novel of the same name, the series follows FBI agent Peter Sutherland, played by Gabriel Basso, as he uncovers a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the Oval Office. The political thriller quickly became one of Netflix’s biggest breakout hits when it premiered.

Following the news, fans took to social media to share their thoughts, and reactions were all over the place.

“Netflix f***** this up themselves and I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT,” one person wrote on Reddit. “Damn i actually really liked the 3rd season,” another expressed. “Sorry to see it go. The 3rd season was fucking awesome,” another shared on X.

At the same time, plenty of viewers felt the series had run its course.

“Probably for the best, before it really overstayed its welcome,” one Reddit user shared. Another chimed in, “Not even mad tbh show was greatly written and anything more will just make it stale,” while a third bluntly added, “Should have ended after episode 4.”

The mixed fan reactions mirror the show’s critical reception over the years.

Season one was undeniably massive for Netflix, becoming the streamer’s third most-watched debut series at the time and hitting number one in more than 87 countries. That success led to quick renewals for seasons two and three.

According to Deadline, viewership reportedly plateaued after season three, but Netflix data apparently showed there was still enough audience interest in Peter’s story to justify one final chapter, leading to the season four renewal and giving fans a proper ending this time around.

- Netflix Just Pulled the Plug on This Show and the Internet Is Completely Divided, PureWow.com, May 20, 2026.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）