rigmarole

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/ (UK); /ˈɹɪɡməɹoʊl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

An alteration of obsolete ragman roll “a long list, catalogue”,^[2][3][4][5] from Middle English ragman roll, a scroll used in a game of chance called Ragman.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first meant a long, rambling discourse or incoherent harangue.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

From rambling talk it shifted to a tiresome, complicated procedure or fuss;^[6][2][5] Etymonline dates this transfer to 1939,^[3] the OED’s first quotation to 1955.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – ragman roll, a long list.^[3]
• 1736 – rigmarole, a rambling discourse.^[3][6][4]
• 1939 – a fussy or foolish activity.^[3]
• 1955 – a lengthy, tiresome procedure.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An elaborate, tiresome procedure.
2. Confused, rambling or meaningless talk.

Related words

• roll

References

1. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press