roughneck

American  

[ruhf-nek] / ˈrʌfˌnɛk /

noun

1. a rough, coarse person; a tough.

2. any laborer working on an oil-drilling rig.

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verb (used without object)

1. to work as a roughneck.

roughneck British  

/ ˈrʌfˌnɛk /

noun

1. a rough or violent person; thug

2. a worker in an oil-drilling operation

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Etymology

Origin of roughneck

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; rough + neck

Example Sentences

In “Crazy About a Mercury,” a man says of his roughneck wife, “I thought she was slapping herself in the face in the bar where we met, but it was how she eats peanuts.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Keith worked as a roughneck in the oil fields of Oklahoma as a young man, then played semi-pro football before launching his career as a singer.

From Seattle Times

He had previously worked as a rodeo hand, a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields and as a semiprofessional football player to support his young family.

From New York Times

And along those highways came the farmers and Okies and oil rig roughnecks who would forever shape the culture and landscape of the San Joaquin Valley.

From Los Angeles Times

Dropped rigs affects the broader oilfield service business and pipelines as the consolidation means less equipment rentals, fewer roughnecks and customers to compete for their business.

From Reuters