hell-raiser

[hel-rey-zer]

noun

Informal.

1. a person who behaves in a rowdy, riotous manner, especially habitually.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hell-raiser¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Lewis had been a hell-raiser since he was a youth, and he was no different as an adult.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He’s a DH as in, designated hell-raiser.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Newell turns Lulu, a whiskey distiller and freelance hell-raiser, into a full-blown comic creation, which is to say a serious person who puts comedy to a purpose.

Read more on New York Times

In my review I called him “a cross between Archie Bunker and Charles Laughton as Quasimodo,” and wrote that Aylward attacked “the role with such verve it’s tough to hate the old coot. Scampering and preening, bellowing one minute and squeaking like a weasel the next, flinging back the skirt of his long coat like a monstrous lizard flicking his tail, he’s a magnificent hell-raiser …”

Read more on Seattle Times

And live, it’s a guaranteed hell-raiser.

Read more on New York Times