ruffian

Everyday

A rough, violent or lawless person, especially a man or a boy who causes trouble. tree →

In the lessons

An old-fashioned word in stories and history: highwaymen, pirates and street gangs are ruffians. In The Wind in the Willows the stoats and weasels who take over Toad Hall are called ruffians, and Toad himself is called a ruffian by the court. Today grandparents use it half-jokingly for noisy boys.

Examples

• A gang of ruffians stopped the coach on the road. tree →
• The weasels and stoats were a band of ruffians. tree →
• «You young ruffians, get off my lawn!» shouted the old man. tree →
• The magistrate called Toad a hardened ruffian. tree →
• Ruffians attacked travellers in the Middle Ages. tree →
• The pirates were cruel ruffians. tree →
• The ruffians were appropriately named Rawbones and Woudkill. tree →

Note

Plural: ruffians. Adjective: ruffianly (rare). Do not confuse with «ruffle» (to mess up hair or feathers).