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trying to explain a mix-up in my mail order to a clearly raddled clerk in customer service
How raddled came to mean "old and worn" isn't known for sure, but etymologists have some theories. One possibility is an association with raddle, a red coloring matter that was used to mark animals. From this, raddled came to mean "heavily made up with rouge" - a condition that sometimes causes the makeup wearer to appear older and more haggard instead of more attractive. Raddled predates the similar-sounding adjective rattled, which means "confused or upset" and comes from the verb rattle. Raddled first appeared in print in 1694, and rattled didn't appear until the early 1900s.
First Known Use: 1694
in the meaning defined at sense 1
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