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  1. hooligan love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A tough and aggressive or violent youth.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Originally, a member of a South London gang of young street rowdies said to have been led by one named Hooligan, who indulged in boisterous horseplay and breaches of the peace; hence, any street ruffian, especially one who is a member of an organized gang; a ‘hoodlum.’
  2. To play the hooligan.
  3. To assault in the manner of the hooligans.

Wiktionary

  1. n. informal, pejorative A person that causes trouble or violence.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a cruel and brutal fellow

Etymologies

  1. Almost certainly from the surname Houlihan. (Wiktionary)
  2. Origin unknown. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘hooligan’.

Comments

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  • goatboy The term "hooligan" has a disputed derivation, but it is generally accepted to have begun to appear in London police reports in 1898 in relation to violent street gangs.

    Writer, Clarence Rook (1862-1915) wrote a book entitled The Hooligan Nights which was about a young criminal’s story told in his own words.

    In this account, Rook wrote: “There was but a few years ago, a man called Patrick Hooligan, who walked to and fro among his fellow men, robbing and occasionally bashing them.�? Jan 24, 2008

  • reesetee Haha! Oily birds aren't quite as funny, of course. :-( Jan 17, 2008

  • asativum Well, like they say: The oily fish gets the worm. Jan 17, 2008

  • reesetee Wow. That must be one oily fish. Jan 16, 2008

  • asativum Also a colloquial name for the mighty eulachon, or Thaleichthys pacificus, an anadromous smelt of the north Pacific. It is also called the candlefish because, as Wikipedia tells us, "if caught, dried, and strung on a wick, it can be burned as a candle."

    I can only imagine how that was discovered. Jan 16, 2008

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‘hooligan’ has been looked up 2625 times, loved by 5 people, added to 46 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12.