www.alphadictionary.com

Here's a word we use quite frequently but whose meaning we perhaps don't confident ly know. I speak for myself of course. My learned friends are no doubt all over it. But it is a lovely word and should be more widely understood - well, by me anyway.

Most political rallies in the City of Melbourne these days seem to include a motley collection of protestors representing a wide range of disparate causes, some even opposing others in the protest.

Who doesn't love a good protest? I'm in. Whose side are we on?

Motley was originally a noun designating the garb of variegated colors worn by a fool or jester. These days, it seems to be an adjective used to describe anything that is seriously multifarious. (But in any case, a delightful word.)