rigmarole

/ˌrɪg(ə)məˈroʊl/

Other forms: rigmaroles

Rigmarole is a good word for talking about situations that involve filling out confusing forms, standing in lines, or following complex rules.

Getting a driver's license, enrolling for college classes, and applying for a visa to travel abroad can all feel like rigmarole. In the 1700s, rigmarole meant "a long rambling discourse." It's thought to be a shortened form of ragman roll, which was a long legal document sewn into a roll in thirteenth century England and Scotland.

Definitions of rigmarole

1. noun

   a long and complicated and confusing procedure
   “all that academic rigmarole was a waste of time”

   synonyms: rigamarole

   type of:

   procedure, process

   a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
2. noun

   a set of confused and meaningless statements
   synonyms: rigamarole

   type of:

   bunk, hokum, meaninglessness, nonsense, nonsensicality

   a message that seems to convey no meaning