Synonyms

glad rags

American

plural noun

Informal.

dressy clothes, especially as worn to a party or other social event.

glad rags British

plural noun

informal best clothes or clothes used on special occasions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

glad rags Idioms

Stylish clothes, as in Let's put on our glad rags and go out on the town. [Slang; late 1800s]

Etymology

Origin of glad rags

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And then she will dry her eyes, fish out a few glad rags, throw on a little makeup and get a blowout..

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2025

The family-friendly day is designed to encourage the next generation - and hundreds of youngsters donned their glad rags and turned out to dance along the route.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2023

The demonstrators were only too happy to talk about their sad rags and their glad rags.

From Slate • Oct. 20, 2011

So put on your glad rags for an old-fashioned evening of sophisticated cabaret devised by David Benedict, Simon Green and David Shrubsole.

From The Guardian • Jan. 8, 2011

“Had it not been for my superior brawn, she would have sacked my wagon. Finally she limped away from the fray, her glad rags askew.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023