They set out a strong set of “best practices” to modernize and improve the ramshackle way our democracy runs elections.
Passing this unworkable, ramshackle bill is counterproductive or irrelevant to that task.
Houses, some grand, others ramshackle, sit empty, cars in driveways.
The main underlying cause of Election Day chaos remains our ramshackle voter registration system.
Perhaps the biggest problem in election administration today is that we are using an outdated, ramshackle registration system.
His ramshackle dwelling was an eighth of a mile from the Gould-Hamilton place.
There was one idle and worthless journeyman in the ramshackle office, and one only.
Paul felt as if the ramshackle building had been out at sea.
It was a ramshackle affair of four streets and sixteen saloons.
I looked round, but the ramshackle cart was hidden by the turn of the road.
1809, back-formation from ramshackled, earlier ranshackled (1670s), alteration of ransackled, past participle of ransackle (see ransack). The word seems to have been Scottish.
Reading over this note to an American gentleman, he seemed to take alarm, lest the word ramshackle should be palmed on his country. I take it home willingly, as a Scotticism, and one well applied, as may be afterwards shown. [Robert Gourlay, "General Introduction to a Statistical Account of Upper Canada," London, 1822]Jamieson's "Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language" (1825) has it as a noun meaning "thoughtless, ignorant fellow."