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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
Examples of ragtag in a Sentence
Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
Anyone who has seen the social-media footage of ragtag infantrymen huddled in trenches is aware that this war is being fought by two poor countries.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024
Both the tent and the traveling quarters are on the ragtag side.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Citizens began to ask why the supposedly omnipotent Chinese Communist Party was powerless against ragtag hoodlums in the poorest fringes of Asia’s poorest nations.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Renfrew reasoned that the dramatic spread of Indo-European languages must have required a bigger push than could be provided by contact with ragtag groups of nomadic herders.
—Kurt Kleiner, Discover Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
Jenkins confirmed the axing on social media, thanking Max and the show's fandom for embracing his ragtag band of oddballs.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 9 Jan. 2024
Tehran wants the Houthis to draw Washington back into a cycle of hubris and humiliation, where the mighty United States works to punish ragtag militias only to eventually withdraw with its tail between its legs.
—Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2024
By the time the Winter Olympics came to Sapporo in 1972, the city had consolidated a ragtag gaggle of street vendors into one strip of permanent premises, now known as Ramen Alley.
—Jonathan Thompson, Travel + Leisure, 21 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ragtag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ragtag
Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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ragtag
adjective
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