Word of the Day

rigmarole

[rig-muh-rohl]

noun:

an elaborate or complicated procedure

Explanation

Rigmarole refers to an overly complicated process that's full of unnecessary steps or tedious detail. It's thought to be an alteration of "ragman roll," the name of a long legal document in the 13th century. If there are lots of forms to fill out, hoops to jump through, and your patience is wearing thin, it's probably a rigmarole.

Example: We had to go through a long rigmarole just to get a simple library card.

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