English

Alternative spellings
rough and tumble

Etymology
From rough + and + tumble.

Adjective
en-adj

1. active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm
2. highly competitive

#: She found fame and success in the rough-and-tumble garment district.

Noun
en-noun

1. Rough activity; fights

#* 1995, Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time: First Movement, page 23
#*: She liked ragging; but ragging � and nothing more � these rough-and-tumbles remained
#* 2000, Mark Michael Smith, The Old South, page 105
#*: As for rough-and-tumbles, the Quaker saw no hope of suppressing them. Few nights passed without such fights [�].

1. An environment of rough activity
2. A person who characteristically engages in such activity

#* 1854, William Chorlton, "The Culture of Celery", in The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, ed. by Luther Tucker, page 166
#*: This will appear a very tedious process to some of our rough-and-tumbles.

Verb
en-verb

1. Engage in rough-and-tumble activity

#* 1853, Thomas De Quincey, Historical and Critical Essays, page 4
#*: But, for all that, our British experience of electioneering "rough-and-tumbling'" has long blunted the edge of our moral anger.
#* 1995, David Kenneth Wiggins, Sport in America: From Wicked Amusement to National Obsession, page 38
#*: Although examples could be found throughout the South, rough-and-tumbling was best suited to the backwoods.

vi:rough-and-tumble
zh:rough-and-tumble

• 2007-11-03 18:07 - DCDuring - /* Verb */

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