rag doll

American  

noun

1. a stuffed doll, especially of cloth.

---

rag doll Idioms  

1. A limp, ineffectual person, as in You won't get a decision from her; she's a rag doll when it comes to making up her mind. This expression transfers the limpness of a soft doll made from scraps of cloth to human behavior. [Mid-1800s]

---

Etymology

Origin of rag doll

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

With hit songs like "Sherry," "Rag Doll," "Dawn" and "Big Girls Don't Cry," the rags-to-riches tale of the group's struggle to overcome their humble beginnings, "Jersey Boys" won four Tonys, including best musical, in 2006.

From Reuters • Jun. 18, 2014

"Rag Doll": rich boy's parents keep him from courting poor girl he loves.

From Time Magazine Archive

If you�re up to it, enter Rag Doll gate and shred the knuckles�you�ll never be the same again.

From Time Magazine Archive

"My Rag Doll wants to go barefoot on the beach."

From The Story of a Plush Bear by Hope, Laura Lee

So then the Rag Doll had two fine black eyes brand new.

From Rootabaga Stories by Petersham, Maud Fuller