hooligan
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/
Forms: form: hooligans
Etymology: Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.
Senses: examples: text: She also heard boys from other classes behind her talking: “So, Teacher Tang is a female hooligan.”
ref: 2012, Tie Ning, The Bathing Women: A Novel:
text: And I was in danger of turning into a right little hooligan if left to my wayward ways.
ref: 2013, Ken Sears, The Boy From Treacle Bumstead, →ISBN:
text: “You are hooligan, you try to make trouble.” Sam paused, then continued. “Ah ha ha ha, I am right, I see it in your eyes. A hooligan!”
ref: 2014, Cynthia Kadohata, Half a World Away, →ISBN:
synonyms: word: agitator
word: bad boy
word: bad news
word: bear
word: bhoy
word: blackguard
word: booger
word: boot boy
word: bovver boy
word: brat
word: brawler
word: breedbate
word: buffoon
word: bugger
word: bully
word: charva
word: cutup
word: devil
word: elf
word: enfant terrible
word: firebrand
word: gadfly
word: hell-raiser
word: hood
word: hoodlum
word: hool
word: hoolie
word: hooligan
word: hothead
word: imp
word: inciter
word: initiator
word: instigator
word: jackanapes
word: joker
word: jokester
word: kindle-coal
word: kindle-fire
word: knave
word: lout
word: makebate
word: minx
word: mischief
word: mischief-maker
word: miscreant
word: ne'er-do-well
word: pixie
word: pot stirrer
word: practical joker
word: prankster
word: puck
word: rabble rouser
word: rakeshame
word: rantipole
word: rapscallion
word: rascal
word: rogue
word: roly-poly
word: rowdy
word: ruffian
word: scamp
word: scapegrace
word: scoundrel
word: shit disturber
word: shitmonger
word: shit-stirrer
word: tearaway
word: thug
word: titivil
word: tough
word: troublemaker
word: undesirable
word: vandal
word: wag
word: wagpastie
word: wrangler
word: yob
word: yobbo
glosses: A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group.
examples: text: These excursions abroad confirm that displacement has actually been a feature of the development of hooligan conflicts for some time, but an important wider point is that domestic hooligan displacement also seems to be a much more central issue today, as policing and other control strategies (segregation, seating, stewarding and CCTV in and around the larger English football grounds) have become more comprehensive, and especially as sentences for hooliganism have become much more forbidding.
ref: 2013, Mark Perryman, Hooligan Wars: Causes and Effects of Football Violence, →ISBN:
glosses: Ellipsis of football hooligan.
examples: text: Many professional Navy and Coast Guard men were inclined to scoff. What kind of Navy was this, and what did they think they were up to, anyway? This bunch of hooligans wouldn't be any good to anyone; wouldn't be worth the powder to blow 'em to hell. Hooligan's Navy.
ref: 1944, Lawrance Roger Thompson, The Navy Hunts the CGR 3070, page 7:
text: It often seemed to Al that the entire Coast Guard was a little embarrassed about being Coast Guardsmen—except maybe the cocky bearded men off the convoy cutters, who needed to apologize to no man because of any lack of battle stars. But in general, Army and Navy guys looked down on Hooligans.
ref: 1957, Weldon Hill, Onionhead, page 251:
text: I frequently notice that the hooligans (a respectful reference to the U.S. Coast Guard) are a hard act to follow.
ref: 1970, “Naval Engineers Journal”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 82, page 45:
text: Navy crew along the rail shouted smart-ass remarks and jeered at the hooligan doing his job.
ref: 2013, Elizabeth Smith Doerning; Frank A. Smith, Jr., The Travels of a Happy Hooligan, →ISBN:
glosses: A member of the United States Coast Guard.
Derived terms: antihooligan
fooligan
hool
hoolie
hooligan firm
hooliganish
hooliganize
hooliganry
hooligan tool
hoolivan
hoonigan
Hughligan
Wholigan
Related terms: hooliganism
lout
thug
yob
yobbo