chicken scratches
Barely readable writing
Chicken scratches refers to handwriting so messy or illegible it resembles the random marks chickens leave scratching in dirt: I can't read his chicken scratches.
The term can also describe any crude, hasty marks or drawings.
Sometimes chicken scratch in the singular.
Careless, illegible writing
- scribbleWrite without care
- indecipherableImpossible to understand
- unreadableCannot be deciphered
- illegibleCannot be read
messy handwriting · smudged · blotchy · squiggle · jotting · unclear · jagged
Casual, aimless drawings
- stick figuresMinimalist human drawings
- early writingFirst recorded language systems
Wrote down hastily
- hurriedDone too quickly
- rushedDone with excessive speed
- scribbledWrote messily, quickly
- speedyCharacterized by quickness
slapdash · cursory · perfunctory · shorthand · expeditious · on-the-fly
Lacking professional skill
- unpracticedWithout training or skill
- sloppyCareless and untidy
- carelessInattentive, prone to mistakes
- shoddyOf poor craftsmanship
botched · maladroit · unprofessional · crude · rough · inept
scrawl
Careless, illegible writing
- scribbleWrite without care
- indecipherableImpossible to understand
- unreadableCannot be deciphered
messy handwriting · illegible · smudged · blotchy · squiggle · jotting · unclear · jagged
doodles
Casual, aimless drawings
- stick figuresMinimalist human drawings
- early writingFirst recorded language systems
jotted
Wrote down hastily
speedy · slapdash · cursory · perfunctory · shorthand · expeditious · on-the-fly
amateurish
Lacking professional skill
- unpracticedWithout training or skill
- sloppyCareless and untidy
- carelessInattentive, prone to mistakes
shoddy · botched · maladroit · unprofessional · crude · rough · inept
chicken, chickens, scratch, scratches, scratched, scratching, scratcher, scratchy, scratchiness