ragtag
adjective
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Breaking Down Ragtag
Tag and rag was a relatively common expression in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was often used pejoratively to refer to members of the lower classes of society. By the 18th century, the phrase had been expanded to ragtag and bobtail. That expression could mean either "the lower classes" or "the entire lot of something" (as opposed to just the more desirable parts—the entire unit of an army, for example, not just its more capable soldiers). Something described as ragtag and bobtail, then, was usually common and unspectacular. Ragtag and bobtail was eventually shortened to ragtag, the adjective we know today, which can describe an odd mixture that is often hastily assembled or second-rate.
Synonyms
- assorted
- eclectic
- heterogeneous
- indiscriminate
- kitchen-sink
- magpie
- miscellaneous
- mixed
- motley
- patchwork
- piebald
- promiscuous
- raggle-taggle
- varied
Example Sentences
Jessica Wang, EW.com, 7 Aug. 2022 And for the Lost Boys, start with pj's and add cardboard swords, a raccoon hat, and other ragtag accessories. Terri Robertson, Country Living, 18 Aug. 2022 This turns out to be a huge nuisance when a ragtag variety of gods show up wanting to lay claim to this desirable expanse of supernatural real estate. al, 10 Aug. 2022 The fifteenth-century castle now became a fortress once again, harboring a ragtag Resistance group. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 Initially announced as a spin-off of DC’s Titans, Doom Patrol’s ragtag team of kind-of superheroes are now completely separate from other DC shows. Men's Health, 3 Aug. 2022 Games are kind of ragtag, and there’s not really a standard. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022 Of course, because this is fiction, the chef successfully transforms his ragtag crew into a tightknit band: a literal brigade, once a traditional French culinary hierarchy is put into place. New York Times, 11 July 2022 When the power facilities and park's security fail, a ragtag group attempts to survive the island overrun by the prehistoric beasts. The Editors, Town & Country, 9 July 2022 See More Word History
ragtag and bobtail
1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing ragtag
Kids Definition
ragtag
adjective
ragtag
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- eclectic
- assorted
- varied
- mixed
- diverse
- motley
- miscellaneous
- heterogeneous
- patchwork
- raggle-taggle
- messy
- chaotic
- promiscuous
- indiscriminate
- magpie
- littered
- kitchen-sink
- various
- combined
- disparate
- piebald
- multifarious
- disheveled
- divergent
- jumbled
- sundry
- cluttered
- dishevelled
- manifold
- confused
- muddled
- blended
- disordered
- composite
- amalgamated
- conglomerate
- multiplex
- multiple
- incorporated
- fused
- hybrid
- myriad
- messed
- mingled
- disarranged
- disarrayed
- intermingled
- intermixed
- merged
- commingled
- unclassified
- unsorted
- commixed
- farraginous
- conglomerated
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- homogeneous
- uniform
- monolithic
- same
- identical
- like
- individual
- distinctive
- distinct
- separate
- alike
Synonyms & Similar Words
- tattered
- ragged
- raggedy
- tatterdemalion
- scruffy
- bedraggled
- scroungy
- shabby
- out at elbows
- out at the elbows
- threadbare
- down-at-heel
- down-at-the-heels
- down-at-the-heel
- down-at-heels
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- spiffy
- decked (out)
- dressed up
- dolled up