rough-and-tumble
[ruhf-uh n-tuhm-buh l]
- characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles: a rough-and-tumble fight; He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.
- given to such action.
Show More
- rough and unrestrained competition, fighting, struggling, etc.
Show More
Origin of rough-and-tumble
First recorded in 1785–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
rugged, turbulent, tempestuous, strenuous, dry, knockabout, tough, grating, husky, rasping, wild, buffeting, agitated, blustery, boisterous, cacophonous, choppy, coarse, discordant, furiousExamples from the Web for rough-and-tumble
Contemporary Examples
His youngest son, Orange Scott, was a rough-and-tumble trickster and a terrible tease.
Mandelbaum began her climb to the top of the crime world as a peddler on the rough-and-tumble, bustling streets of New York City.
Meet 'The Queen of Thieves' Marm Mandelbaum, New York City's First Mob BossJ. North Conway
September 7, 2014
In that rough-and-tumble era, wire cages surrounded many basketball courts to protect spectators from the players, and visa versa.
For many fans, her hardscrabble youth and rough-and-tumble style were viewed as endearing strengths.
ESPN’s ‘The Price of Gold’ Revisits the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan ScandalAmy Zimmerman
January 15, 2014
While at the Tribune, Axelrod rose to city hall bureau chief, covering the rough-and-tumble politics of the Windy City.
Historical Examples
He even moved a chair which might get underfoot in a rough-and-tumble.
Joan of Arc of the North WoodsHolman Day
Was there ever a rough-and-tumble that anybody could explain lucidly the morning after?
The Pagan MadonnaHarold MacGrath
This Bandy Walker was a gunman and a rough-and-tumble fighter.
The Fighting EdgeWilliam MacLeod Raine
Percy realized that in a rough-and-tumble he would be no match for Jabe.
Jim Spurling, FishermanAlbert Walter Tolman
He fell upon him, and a rough-and-tumble inaugurated the party.
The CricketMarjorie Cooke
rough-and-tumble
- a fight or scuffle without rules
Show More
- characterized by roughness, disorderliness, and disregard for rules or conventions
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012