in apple-pie order

in apple-pie order

Very neat and organized. Don't worry, we'll find that file—Elaine keeps all the records in apple-pie order.
See also: order
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*in apple-pie order

Fig. in very good order; very well organized. (*Typically: be ~; get something ~; put something ~.) Please put everything in apple-pie order before you leave. I always put my desk in apple-pie order every evening. I've put my entire life into apple-pie order.
See also: order
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

in apple-pie order

OLD-FASHIONED
If a place is in apple-pie order, everything in it is very tidy and well-organized. Apart from the scaffolding and plastic sheeting that still remained, they found everything in apple-pie order. On the upper deck everything was very much in apple pie order. Note: This expression is thought to come from the French for `from head to foot', referring originally to a well-kept suit of armour or military uniform.
See also: order
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

in apple-pie order

in perfect order or neatness.
The origin of the phrase, which is first recorded in 1780 , is unclear. It may be traceable back to Old French cap a pie ‘head to foot’; it may be an alteration of French nappe pliée ‘folded cloth’ (which is where ‘apple-pie bed’ comes from); or it may simply be a reference to a literal apple pie.
See also: order
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

in apple-pie ˈorder

neat and very well organized: She keeps the accounts in apple-pie order.
See also: order
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • apple pie order
  • apple-pie order
  • be in apple-pie order
  • in order
  • on the order of
  • place an order
  • place an/the/(one's) order
  • order from
  • order from (someone or something)
  • order in
References in classic literature
He kept his ship in apple-pie order, which would have been seamanlike enough but for a finicking touch in its details.