Definition of "rag-tag" [rag-tag]

• Ragged people collectively; the scum of the populace; the rabble: sometimes used attributively. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• ""There were boots on the ground: They were Libyan flip flops and Libyan running shoes," he said, referring to the rag-tag rebel forces that slowly, and after heavy casualties, developed enough combat prowess."
• "It's easy to tell the difference between an experienced larper and a newbie; one wears an impressively detailed costume that wouldn't look out of place in the Lord of the Rings movies, the other wears a rag-tag jumble of second-hand hippie clothes."
• "They couldn't maintain international legitimacy by invading a sovereign country, so, on the advice of their Ugandan allies, the Rwandans put together a rag-tag band of anti-Mobutu rebels to front the operation—among them the washed-up old revolutionary Laurent Kabila, whom Che Guevara had tried and failed to train in the art of war."