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
Surrounded by plug-ugly bodyguards he rose by private elevator to the office of Governor Oscar Kelly Allen.
From Time Magazine Archive
To Willys the jeep is a plug-ugly duckling who laid a golden egg.
From Time Magazine Archive
He is an unmitigated ruffian, the plug-ugly of the woods.
From Little Rivers; a book of essays in profitable idleness by Henry Van Dyke
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