chequered

chequered |ˈtʃɛkəd |(US checkered ) ▶adjective 1 having a pattern consisting of alternating squares of different colours. 2 marked by periods of varied fortune or discreditable incidents: the chequered history of post-war Britain.

chequered flag

chequered flag ▶noun Motor Racing a flag with a black-and-white chequered pattern, displayed to drivers at the end of a race. PHRASES take the chequered flag finish first in a race.

chequered

chequered adjective 1 he wore short chequered breeches: checked, multicoloured, many-coloured, harlequin, varicoloured, particoloured. 2 the corporation has had a chequered history: varied, mixed, eventful, full of ups and downs, up and down, with good and bad parts, with its fair share of rough and tumble; unsettled, unstable, irregular, erratic, inconstant, fluctuating, changeful; diverse, diversified, many-faceted; rare vicissitudinous.