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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
Kayti Burt, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2025
Three years ago, no one would have predicted that a ragtag group of NFL players would put out an album of music that didn’t just break into the Billboard charts but actually sounded good.
—Rebecca Milzoff, Billboard, 6 Jan. 2025
In that story, Marvel's multiverse is almost completely destroyed by beings called the Beyonders, and the few survivors are gathered on a ragtag planet called Battleworld, overseen by Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 22 Jan. 2025
When Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, and the rest of their ragtag fugitive fleet fled the Cylon tyranny, one of their first ports of call was the pleasure planet of Carillon for a spot of R&R.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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ragtag
adjective
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