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A rigmarole is a long, messy, stretch of talk or of steps — the kind that makes you think “why does this have to take so long?” Filling in five forms to get one simple stamp is a rigmarole. A story that wanders and never comes to the point is a rigmarole too. It is informal, a bit impatient, and a bit old-fashioned in a friendly way. Though actually, it is not a neutral word for a careful process; the moment you call it a rigmarole, you have already said it is too much. The wild spelling is a clue to the history: it comes from ragman roll, an old name for a long list or catalogue, and has been recorded since about 1736. American English also , with an extra a; both are used. You say it roughly RIG-muh-roll.
繁文縟節；一長串囉嗦的話（或麻煩手續）
組成From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”), recorded since about 1736. The modern spelling no longer shows those two words clearly.
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
rigmarolenoun/ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/
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A long and complicated formal procedure.
- Have you seen all the rigmarole you have to go through at airport security these days?
- “Happy Father's Day! Birdhouse is coming along great. 'Course, the city inspector's riding me about zoning laws, and my electrician's putting me through the whole rigmarole.” “Steve, you've made peace with never being with a woman, right?” “Uh, yeah.”
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datedConfused and incoherent talk; nonsense.
- If you are alluding to Dostoevski’s worst novels, then, indeed, I dislike intensely The Karamazov Brothers and the ghastly Crime and Punishment rigmarole.
- Often one's dear friend talks something which one scruples to call rigmarole.
rigmaroleadj/ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/
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Characterized by rigmarole; prolix; tedious.
- This is a most rigmarole letter, for after each sentence, I take breath[…]
- "This officer has ended at last," said the Prime Minister. "Another story of calamity, and told in a very rigmarole way, I must confess; but he never can shorten his reports by only inserting the weighty matter. 'Reports annexed,' indeed!—yes, six of them; and underneath sixteen other reports—all, no doubt, much in the same strain."
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。