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Synonyms

wild-and-woolly

American

[wahyld-n-wool-ee] / ˈwaɪld nˈwʊl i /

adjective

unrestrained; lawless.

a wild-and-woolly frontier town.

Etymology

Origin of wild-and-woolly

First recorded in 1885–90; perhaps originally referring to range-bred cattle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.