| apple-pie order | |
| —n | |
| informal perfect order or condition | |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
apple-pie order
Extreme neatness, as in David keeps his financial records in apple-pie order. This term is generally believed to be an English corruption of the French nappes pliées, "neatly folded linen." [Early 1600s]