Origin - mid 18th century: apparently an alteration of ragman doll, originally denoted a legal document recording a list of offences.
Spanish bureaucracy has become a rigmarole of near lethal proportions: this is the paperwork to change the name on the gas bill.
This word is weird. That's why I like it. Let's face it, if you didn't know what it meant then there is next to no chance that you could guess. It's good to say but the sound gives no hint as to the meaning. Even the dictionary seems to be a bit perplexed: 'apparently an alteration...'. If one had to make a guess, mine would tend towards it being a stage of rigor mortis, a lengthy and complicated procedure in itself (it's the death bit that discourages most people from trying it).
I also like the idea of the ragman doll from the definition - it sounds much more fun than simply having a criminal record. It might also work in my favour if I can now put that I have a great ragman doll on my cv...
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