Meanings
- IrelandUKslanggovernmentIn a state of mess or chaos.
We took over the plant in rag order but had to hand it over as per BAOR standards. So light bulbs that weren't working on the dashboard had to be replaced, an A type job, or Operator job.
2009, Julian Beirne, Diary of a Sapper, page 2892 more examples
He looks to be in rag order, one hand on the wall to hold himself up, the other one on his trousers, to hold them up by the looks of it. It's fairly cold out and he's making slow progress to wherever he's headed.
2003, Donal Ruane, Tales in a Rearview Mirror, page 80Our parents left the world in reasonably good shape but I've a horrible feeling we'll be leaving it in rag order. And I'm in rag order, myself. I'm halfway down the stairs in the morning before I'm convinced that I'm awake, that I'm actually alive.
2019, Roddy Doyle, Charlie Savage
Cite this entry
in rag order. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20rag%20order
“in rag order.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20rag%20order. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in rag order,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20rag%20order.
Source: in rag order on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.