plug-ugly
Britishadjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of plug-ugly
C19: origin obscure; originally applied to ruffians in New York who attempted to exert political pressure
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But perhaps more than any American dramatist working today, Mr. Bradshaw walks — no, make that tramples — the lines that divide the good, the bad and the plug-ugly, both in art and in life.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2011
By giving the Corporation absolute control of all broadcasting, Britain hoped to gain a compromise between Government-owned radio and plug-ugly commercial radio.
From Time Magazine Archive
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the flashy plug-ugly who became one of the war's great soldiers, is Inspector General of Western Defenses.
From Time Magazine Archive
Joe Messina, Senator Long's plug-ugly bodyguard, was dispatched to arrest the photographer.
From Time Magazine Archive
There is a hurrying and a scurrying among the females, and there are a precious lot of young fellows, with low brows and plug-ugly looks gathering on the floor.
From Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations The Veil Lifted, and Light Thrown on Crime and its Causes, and Criminals and their Haunts. Facts and Disclosures. by Howe, William F.
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.
