- rigmarole
- also rigamarole noun Etymology: alteration of obsolete ragman roll long list, catalog Date: circa 1736 1. confused or meaningless talk 2. a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
rigmarole
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Rigmarole — Rig ma*role, n. [For ragman roll. See {Ragman s roll}.] A succession of confused or nonsensical statements; foolish talk; nonsense. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] Often one s dear friend talks something which one scruples to call rigmarole. De Quincey … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Rigmarole — Rig ma*role, a. Consisting of rigmarole; frivolous; nonsensical; foolish. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
rigmarole — (n.) 1736, a long, rambling discourse, from an altered, Kentish colloquial survival of ragman roll long list or catalogue (1520s), in Middle English a long roll of verses descriptive of personal characters, used in a medieval game of chance… … Etymology dictionary
rigmarole — [n] nonsense babble, balderdash*, baloney, blather, bull, bunk*, drivel, foolishness, gibberish, gobbledygook*, hogwash*, hot air*, jargon, jive*, madness, mumbo jumbo*, palaver, poppycock*, prattle, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, trash*;… … New thesaurus
rigmarole — ► NOUN 1) a lengthy and complicated procedure. 2) a long, rambling story. ORIGIN apparently from obsolete ragman roll, originally denoting a legal document recording a list of offences … English terms dictionary
rigmarole — [rig′mə rōl΄] n. [altered < ragman roll < ME rageman rolle, a long list or document] 1. foolish or incoherent rambling talk; nonsense 2. a foolishly involved, fussy, or time wasting procedure … English World dictionary
rigmarole — [[t]rɪ̱gməroʊl[/t]] rigmaroles N COUNT: usu sing (disapproval) You can describe a long and complicated process as a rigmarole. Then the whole rigmarole starts over again... I couldn t be bothered to go through the rigmarole of changing clothes … English dictionary
rigmarole — rig|ma|role [ rıgmə,roul ] noun singular a long complicated process that seems unnecessary or silly: I had to go through the whole rigmarole of being questioned and searched before they let me in. a. a description or story that is longer and more … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
rigmarole — [18] Rigmarole is a corruption of an earlier ragman roll, a term first encountered in the late 13th century. It denoted a roll of parchment used in a gambling game. The roll had things written on it, such as names, with pieces of string attached… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
rigmarole — also rigamarole AmE noun 1 (singular, uncountable) a long confusing process or description: Omar went into this rigmarole about how he lost his passport. 2 (U) a long confusing series of actions that seems silly: I had to go through the whole… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
rigmarole — UK [ˈrɪɡmərəʊl] / US [ˈrɪɡməˌroʊl] noun [singular] a) a long complicated process that seems unnecessary or silly I had to go through the whole rigmarole of being questioned and searched before they let me in. b) a description or story that is… … English dictionary
