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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.
Examples of ragtag in a Sentence
Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2025
In the second layer of Lieblich’s story, inside the play that the witness is describing, a group of ragtag heroes is attempting to break the link between the rhetoric of power and its real-world effect.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
In its first year or two, Netflix was a ragtag operation.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
But wait, didn't a ragtag team of Rebels do that in the live-action spinoff movie Rogue One?
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ragtag
Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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ragtag
adjective
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