Interesting Words: Rigamarole or rigmarole

This is a common and fun word, used mostly in the US, with two possible spellings: rigamarole or rigmarole. We often use this word, but most speakers have no idea from where it comes. But first, let’s look at what it means.

• Speaking in a confused, rambling (décousu) and incoherent way. For example, in a sentence taken from Stephen Crane’s “The Monster:”
  • Speak out like a man, and don’t give me any more of this tiresome rigamarole.
• A long complicated procedure
  • I was going to install a larger engine in my car, but I did not want to have to deal with the whole rigmarole.
  • Going through security at the airport has become quite a rigamarole.
• A long explanation
  • He didn’t seem to quite understand all the steps of installing the new program when I explained it, so I had to go through the entire rigamarole again.
• Everything
  • When Disney decided to take their musical production of Beauty and the Beast on tour, they took the singers, the dancers and the whole rigmarole.

The word’s origins date back to the end of 13th-century Scotland when over 2,000 Scottish nobles and freeholders had to sign documents acknowledging their allegiance to King Edward I of England. This long series of documents rolled together was called the Ragman’s Roll from which today’s word is derived.