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hey rube

American  

interjection

  1. (used as a call to rally circus or carnival personnel in a fight, especially in a fight with townspeople.)

noun

  1. a fight between townspeople and the members of a circus or carnival.

Etymology

Origin of hey rube

First recorded in 1880–85

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.