Rack (n.): frame for drying clothes. ‘Underclothes that were airing on the rack above the fireplace’ (Cross 1951: 137). ‘The rack/above the bath hangs heavy’ (Simpson 1990: 15). ‘The daily, rusty hoist of the rack over the kitchen table’ (Bryan 2003 [1940s–50s]: 163). Recorded from 14c. in this sense; glossed as ‘rare’ though in common use in Liverpool until l.20c.; originally a frame for the drying of skins and cloth; the rack was often attached to the kitchen ceiling and could be raised to save space.

Rack, the (n.): see Monkey Rack. Raddled (adj.): drunk; confused. ‘Raddled: Bewildered, confused’ (Lane 1966: 88). Recorded from l.17c.; possibly by association with ‘addled’.

Rag and bone man/Ragman (n.): a dealer in rags or old clothes. ‘A man like a ragman or hawker overtook her on the road’ (Anon. 1833b: 3). ‘Daniel Healy, a ragman living in the same yard’ (Anon. 1867: 5). ‘He told her that a ragman gave it to him’ (Anon. 1891: 7). ‘He saw the defendant arguing with a ragman’ (Anon. 1915a: 4). ‘Look at Paddy McGee, the ragman’ (Hall 2004 [1939]: 29). ‘De ragman. The old-clothes man’ (Shaw et al. 1966: 24). ‘I've borried a ragman's bugle’ (Jacques 1975: n.p.). ‘The rag and bone men with goldfish and balloons in exchange for woollens and jamjars’ (Unwin 1984 [1920s–30s]: 79). ‘Dee ragman The old-rags man’ (Spiegl 2000b: 51). ‘Rag and bone men, midden men and knife grinders were galoshermen’ (Lees 2013: 131). Recorded from 17c.; rags were used for the manufacture of paper, while bones were used in making toys, ornaments, household implements and soap.

Ragged school (n.): free school for poor children. ‘The Story of a Ragged School Boy’ (Shimmin 1863: 148). ‘After a peep in at a ragged school’ (Haigh 1907: 118). ‘At first elementary education – except in the “ragged school” – charming name – cost a penny a week’ (Shaw 1959a: 41).