Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Disorderly, in a messy or chaotic state; ragged.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Alteration of rag-tag; compare -le.

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Examples

  • The day's racing was topped and tailed by the hirsute raggle-taggle folkies of the Hothouse Flowers and an assortment of Irish dancers performing in the Centaur while the Guinness Village was stuffed to the gunnels with heavily refreshed revellers, many of whom were dressed as leprechauns or snake-banishing saints.

    Cheltenham Festival diary | Sport | The Guardian 2011

  • Why, why, why is the United States still squandering lives and badly needed treasure fighting a raggle-taggle of foreign fighters defending their countries that have been invaded and occupied by Americans?????

    The year in politics 2009

  • San Francisco's Vetiver first came to our attention circa 2004 as part of Devendra Banhart's raggle-taggle retinue, touting a particularly drowsy brand of psychedelic folk characterised by the mellow vocals and gentle fingerpicking of frontman Andy Cabic.

    This week's new live music 2011

  • San Francisco's Vetiver first came to our attention circa 2004 as part of Devendra Banhart's raggle-taggle retinue, touting a particularly drowsy brand of psychedelic folk characterised by the mellow vocals and gentle fingerpicking of frontman Andy Cabic.

    This week's new live music 2011

  • The songs don't help them, sadly: Hope St seems to be an exercise in writing a song in every style that will support four guitars and voices, so we get a bit of Waterboys-style raggle-taggle (Stray Cat), some rockabilly (That Old Song), some sunny pop (I Don't Know), the big ballad (Take Another Ride) – and that's within the first five songs.

    Kassidy: Hope St – review 2011

  • His team was most likely a raggle-taggle of kids with home-carved hockey sticks and a potato for a puck, but ice hockey players are heroes in Belarus.

    Venom Joan Brady 2010

  • Henry has to confess he had a fear that the river would be up—as once it destroyed another rebel against Richard—but the crossing is low, and the evening mild, and at last they are in England, a raggle-taggle army of French convicts, German mercenaries, and a few Welsh adventurers.

    The Red Queen Philippa Gregory 2010

  • He savoured his drive to Winchester racecourse from his home (an empty-feeling home now that his wife had run off with a raggle-taggle TV repair man), taking pleasure in the sunshine sparkling on the fresh green buds of regenerate trees.

    The Elvis Latte Allie Dresser 2010

  • Somehow, though, James and his gang – a prissy-looking lot who, to be honest, aren't going to go a long way in persuading anyone that classical music is cool – cobble together a raggle-taggle band of kids.

    TV review: Sherlock and Orchestra United 2010

  • As the author of "The Threepenny Opera," Brecht would surely have approved of it, and I also think he would have liked the musical settings by Mike Przygoda and Mikhail Fiksel of his lyrics, which are played with raggle-taggle abandon by a band whose randomly dressed members, much like the actors, give the charming impression of having poked their heads into the theater out of curiosity.

    Deadly Serious Comedy 2010

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