Definition of Rough-and-tumble

1. Noun. Disorderly fighting.

Exact synonyms: Dogfight, Hassle, Scuffle, Tussle
Generic synonyms: Combat, Fight, Fighting, Scrap
Derivative terms: Scuffle, Tussle

2. Adjective. Characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules. "Undisguised bare-knuckle capitalism"
Exact synonyms: Bare-knuckle, Bare-knuckled
Similar to: Disorderly

Definition of Rough-and-tumble

1. Adjective. active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm ¹

2. Adjective. highly competitive ¹

3. Noun. Rough activity; fights ¹

4. Noun. An environment of rough activity ¹

5. Noun. A person who characteristically engages in such activity ¹

6. Verb. Engage in rough-and-tumble activity ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Rough-and-tumble

roucous
roue
rouen
rouens
roues
rouet
rouets
rouge
rouge et noir
rouge plant
rougeberry
rouged
rouges
rough
rough-and-ready
rough-and-tumble (current term)
rough-and-tumbled
rough-and-tumbles
rough-and-tumbling
rough-cut
rough-dry
rough-footed
rough-grained
rough-hew
rough-hewn
rough-house
rough-leaved
rough-leaved aster
rough-legged
rough-legged buzzard

Literary usage of Rough-and-tumble

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass (1855)
"He little thought he was—as the rowdies say—" in" for a " rough and tumble" fight; but such was the fact. Whence came the daring spirit necessary to grapple ..."

2. A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present by Arthur Stedman, Edmund Clarence Stedman (1894)
"THE rough-and-tumble FIGHT. [Georgia Scenes, etc.. in the First Half Century of the Republic. 1840.] AT this moment something was seen to rush out of the ..."

3. Recollections of a Lifetime: Or Men and Things I Have Seen ; in a Series of by Samuel Griswold Goodrich (1857)
"I leave you to guess my emotions, for I could not describe them. LETTER XL. Preparation! for a Ride—Itr. Jeffrey in a rough-and-tumble—A Glance at ..."

4. Abraham Lincoln and the Downfall of American Slavery by Noah Brooks (1894)
"The Land of Full-Grown Men—Lincoln Attains His Majority—Striking Out for Himself—Another River Voyage—An Odd Introduction to New Salem—Some Rough and Tumble ..."

5. Abraham Lincoln: The Nation's Leader in the Great Struggle Through which was by Noah Brooks (1888)
"The Land of Full-Grown Men—Lincoln Attains his Majority—Striking Out for Himself—Another River Voyage—An Odd Introduction to New Salem—Some Rough and Tumble ..."

6. "The Cannoneer.": Recollections of Service in the Army of the Potomac by Augustus Buell (1890)
"BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS—rough-and-tumble IN THE BRUSH — BUSHWHACKING ON A GRAND SCALE—CRISIS OP the BATTLE —GEN. FIELD'S ACCOUNT—ADVANCE OF THE ..."

7. The Life of Thomas Brackett Reed by Samuel Walker McCall (1914)
"CHAPTER IX ROUGH AND TUMBLE THERE was much rough-and-tumble fighting in the House in those days ... ROUGH AND TUMBLE."

8. Under the Red Crescent: Adventures of an English Surgeon with the Turkish by Charles Snodgrass Ryan, John Sandes (1897)
"... Mysterious Disturbance— rough-and-tumble Fighting—A Turkish Hercules—Capturing a Prisoner—A Solitary Ride—A Bulgarian Farrier— Back to Sofia—Christmas ..."

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