Meanings
- CanadacolloquialuncountableThe practice of setting a secretary's pay in proportion to the status of the person the secretary works for.
It created an impression among staff members that they were not trusted. In assigning individual offices, “rug-ranking” was fairly obvious.
1999, Barbara Wake Carroll, David Siegel, Service in the Field: The World of Front-line Public Servants, Canada: Institute of Public Administration, page 1141 more example
But it was found during the course of this study that many middle-sized and small corporations had never heard of rug-ranking (while practicing it) or were convinced that it was strictly a Public Service concern.
1977, Louise Dulude, The status of women in Federal crown corporations, page 20
Origin
An allusion to the carpets in the offices of prestigious officials.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
rug ranking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rug%20ranking
“rug ranking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rug%20ranking. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rug ranking,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rug%20ranking.
Source: rug ranking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.