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• rough-and-tumble
  rough-and-tumble

  adjective

  characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles.
• rough and tumble
  rough and tumble

  Disorderly scuffling or infighting, as in She had some reservations about entering the rough and tumble of local politics. This expression originated in the late 1700s in boxing, where it referred to a fight without rules. [Mid-1800s]

rough-and-tumble

American  

[ruhf-uhn-tuhm-buhl] / ˈrʌf ənˈtʌm bəl /

adjective

1. characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles.

   a rough-and-tumble fight; He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.

2. given to such action.

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noun

1. rough and unrestrained competition, fighting, struggling, etc.

rough-and-tumble British  

noun

1. a fight or scuffle without rules

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adjective

1. characterized by roughness, disorderliness, and disregard for rules or conventions

rough and tumble Idioms  

1. Disorderly scuffling or infighting, as in She had some reservations about entering the rough and tumble of local politics. This expression originated in the late 1700s in boxing, where it referred to a fight without rules. [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of rough-and-tumble

First recorded in 1785–95

Related Words

• disorderly
• rough
• rugged
• strenuous
• tempestuous
• turbulent