apple-pie order

noun

A neat and tidy arrangement or organization; a perfect order.

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Meanings

nounapple-pie order (uncountable)
  1. colloquialdateduncountableA neat and tidy arrangement or organization; a perfect order.

    And he was devoted to his books, which were in apple-pie order.

    1902, Joseph Conrad, “Heart of Darkness”, in Youth: A Narrative: And Two Other Stories, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and sons, →OCLC, part I, page 77
    2 more examples

    He was made welcome...and was able before retiring to rest to arrange his materials for work in apple-pie order upon a commodious table which occupied the outer end of the room...

    1904, M.R. James, Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad

    She had only just got her home into apple-pie order again; for the second time; first the earthquake, then the civil war.

    1944, Elizabeth Goudge, Green Dolphin Street, page 307

Origin

Unknown. First recorded in 1780 in the sea journal of an Englishman. There are two mainstream theories as to its origin, although there is no evidence for either: * French cap-à-pied (“head to foot”) * French nappe pliée (“folded linen”) The proposed nappe pliée fits more closely with the date of first attestation.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

apple-pie order. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apple-pie%20order

MLA

“apple-pie order.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apple-pie%20order. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apple-pie order,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apple-pie%20order.

Source: apple-pie order on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.