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raggle-taggle

American  
[rag-uhl-tag-uhl] / ˈræg əlˈtæg əl /

adjective

  1. ragtag.


raggle-taggle British  
/ ˈræɡəlˈtæɡəl /

adjective

  1. motley or unkempt

    a raggle-taggle band of volunteers and students

"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

Etymology

Origin of raggle-taggle

First recorded in 1900–05; alteration of ragtag

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.

The production numbers felt more put-on-a-show, raggle-taggle, and human than the big-machine spectacles that the Grammys usually present.

From Slate • Jan. 29, 2018

Then he materialized, followed by a raggle-taggle army, Muhammad Ali’s irregulars, your basic rainbow coalition of the late 1960s, falling in step behind him, chanting: “Muhammad Ali is our champ! Muhammad Ali is our champ!”

From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2016

The role of sentimental favourite, meanwhile, looks tailor-made for nine-year-old Quevenzhané Wallis, the raggle-taggle heroine from Beasts of the Southern Wild.

From The Guardian • Jan. 8, 2013

Crucially, the Palme d'Or contenders have been filed as a raggle-taggle bunch, often outpaced by the films in the Directors' Fortnight or Un Certain Regard.

From The Guardian • May 21, 2010

Then suddenly she sang at the top of her voice, “for I’m off with the raggle-taggle gipsies—oh!”

From The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett by MacKenzie, Compton