hoodlum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhuːdləm/
ipa: /ˈhʊdləm/
Forms: form: hoodlums
Etymology: First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavarian Haderlump (“ragamuffin”).
Herbert Asbury's book The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933, A. A. Knopf, New York) says the word originated in San Francisco from a particular street gang's call to unemployed Irishmen to "huddle 'em" (to beat up Chinese migrants), after which San Francisco newspapers took to calling street gangs "hoodlums".
Senses: examples: text: There is no question the MS-13 gang must be stopped. It is a vile organization of hoodlums with no regard for life.
ref: 2018 September 19, Lisa Ling, “How the US helped create Trump’s ‘violent animals’”, in CNN:
text: In Sam Mendes's excellent gangster movie Road to Perdition (2002), he tested the boundaries further playing a hitman – but while we know he's a killer, we never really see him go full-pelt hoodlum.
ref: 2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC:
text: Caesar Enrico “Rico” Bandello is a hoodlum who rises swiftly in Chicago’s mob world, in the 1931 film “Little Caesar.” Played by Edward G. Robinson, Rico is tracked down by police and shot.
ref: 2023 August 20, Richard Galant, “Opinion: A powerful weapon for prosecutors is now in the hands of Fani Willis”, in CNN:
text: The state’s police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun told CNN in a statement that operatives arrested 11 armed “hoodlums” who set fire to a government building after looting it.
ref: 2024 August 1, Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari, “Violence erupts as Nigerians protest hunger across the nation”, in CNN:
synonyms: word: criminal
word: crook
word: committer
word: culprit
word: delinquent
word: desperado
word: double-dealer
word: felon
word: hoodlum
word: lawbreaker
word: lowlife
word: malefactor
word: malfeasant
word: offender
word: outlaw
word: perpetrator
word: public enemy
word: scofflaw
word: undesirable
glosses: A gangster; a hired thug.
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 rough or violent youth.
Derived terms: hoodlumish
hoodlumize
hoodlumry