Hi,
What does it mean to “stagger one’s appearance”? It appears to mean to alter one’s appearance, but I haven’t found any definition matching the use of the word “stagger” to it usage below.
I look forward to your feedback.
“The lavish wedding of John Gotti’s grandson would have made the Dapper Don proud — guests were shaken down for minimum gifts of $5,000 and gangsters had to stagger their appearances to avoid unlawful contact with fellow criminals, The Post has learned.”
"“Felons can’t consort together,” one source said.
“You have to stagger the felons. That’s standard mob procedure.”"
stagger:
8.
to arrange otherwise than at the same time, especially in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals:
They planned to stagger lunch hours so that the cafeteria would not be rushed.
Perhaps because it is not an expression as such. It is a phrase formed by joining several words together. The meaning of the phrase is obtained by considering the meanings of the words in the phrase and the context in which it is found.
Would “make staggered appearances” carry the same meaning? Had the writer of this particular article used that formulation I would have understood it immediately.