border ruffian

American  

[bawr-der ruhf-ee-uhn] / ˈbɔr dər ˈrʌf i ən /

noun

border ruffians plural

1. U.S. History. Often, Border Ruffian. any of a group of criminal proslavery activists of Missouri who crossed into Kansas in order to intimidate, attack, rob, and sometimes murder opponents of slavery and to vote fraudulently in elections in an effort to defeat antislavery settlers there.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• border ruffians
  plural

Example Sentences

He’s a governor-general now, a sort of viceroy, and all sorts of things; while I’m—well, a fair specimen of a Western border ruffian.

From Golden Face A Tale of the Wild West by Mitford, Bertram

Such was the Missouri "border ruffian" of 1854.

From The Middle Period 1817-1858 by Burgess, John William

The name of this noted border ruffian was known to him, likewise some of his deeds.

From The Sirdar's Oath A Tale of the North-West Frontier by Mitford, Bertram

I am from Kansas—that's true; and was a soldier and a scout in the Union army," said I; "and I was in Kansas during the border ruffian war of 1856.

From The Life of Hon. William F. Cody Known as Buffalo Bill the Famous Hunter, Scout and Guide by Buffalo Bill

The rugged hunter looked at the big malformed border ruffian with repulsion.

From Man Size by Raine, William MacLeod