rag doll

American  

noun

1. a stuffed doll, especially of cloth.

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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]

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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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

And so in the wedding procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle, they wiggled their ears and looked around and wiggled their ears again.

From Rootabaga Stories by Petersham, Maud Fuller

“Here I am, Granny!” replied the Rag Doll.

From Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer Country by Herford, Oliver