Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

apple-pie order en · NOUN

Etymology

Unknown. First recorded in 1780 in the sea journal of an Englishman. There are two mainstream theories as to its origin, although there is no evidence for either: * French cap-à-pied (“head to foot”) * French nappe pliée (“folded linen”) The proposed nappe pliée fits more closely with the date of first attestation.

Meanings

  1. (colloquial, dated, uncountable) A neat and tidy arrangement or organization; a perfect order.
    • And he was devoted to his books, which were in apple-pie order. 1902, Joseph Conrad, “Heart of Darkness”, in Youth: A Narrative: And Two Other Stories, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and sons, →OCLC, part I, page 77:
    • He was made welcome...and was able before retiring to rest to arrange his materials for work in apple-pie order upon a commodious table which occupied the outer end of the room... 1904, M.R. James, Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad:
    • She had only just got her home into apple-pie order again; for the second time; first the earthquake, then the civil war. 1944, Elizabeth Goudge, Green Dolphin Street, page 307: