rough-and-tumble

Related to rough-and-tumble: remonstration, appraising, call on, opposers, took over

rough and tumble

Rowdy, disorderly, and boisterous; marked by scuffles or infighting. An allusion to a boxing match in which there are no rules. Sometimes hyphenated when used before a noun. The kids started getting a bit too rough and tumble when their cousin Jake came over. It's healthy for them to have a bit of rough-and-tumble play, so long as they make time for quiet play, as well.
See also: and, rough, tumble
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rough-and-tumble

 and rough-and-ready
disorderly; aggressive. That was a rough-and-tumble football game. George is too rough-and-ready for me. He doesn't know how to act around civilized people.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • in demand
  • bleeding edge
  • hit and miss
  • hit or miss
  • hit-and-miss
  • flat chat
  • flat strap
  • bowler hat (one) out (of something or some place)
  • cop on
  • eye opener
References in periodicals archive
Rough-and-tumble behaviours are considered to be play behaviour (Pellegrini & Smith, 1998; Reed & Brown, 2000) and yet are also at times referred to as non-play behaviour.
The authors suggested that superhero play may be a subcategory of rough-and-tumble play and not a separate category.
Although this preference for quietness and harmony is reinforced at every stage of life, it does not preclude children's rough-and-tumble play.
In rough-and-tumble democratic societies, we have little choice except to be guided by what U.S.
Later, when keelboats became the chief vessels of commerce on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, he became "the king of the keelboatmen," renowned as a marksman, roisterer, and champion rough-and-tumble fighter.
Reckless, rough-and-tumble lumberjacks, complacent pawns of a ruthless forest-products industry.
In the rough-and-tumble world of pharmaceuticals, Krauer says, "sales of some older products are slow, and there's pressure on prices because of efforts worldwide to reduce health-care costs." Too, Ciba-Geigy awakened late in the 1980s and found itself a lumbering giant with a top-heavy management hierarchy and a culture that placed too little emphasis on innovation.
(LCW) formed their advertising agency two years ago, they weren't strangers to each other or the rough-and-tumble world of advertising.
Romeo took over in the third quarter and San Miguel Beer steamrolled Phoenix, 114-91, in another rough-and-tumble Philippine Cup semifinals duel for a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night at Cuneta Astrodome.
Watch a naive Nomi (Saved By the Bell's Berkley) get her big break at the Stardust Casino only to discover how rough-and-tumble Vegas is.
Arresting color and b&w images by urban photographer Knox document the rough-and-tumble lives of a colony of feral cats on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia.
While some people find rough-and-tumble sex a real turn on, others have every right to say no to it.
Parks are places for fun and no-one wants to deny youngsters the rough-and-tumble of growing up.
Boys who don't like rough-and-tumble play perceive males as different from themselves, a feeling that may tuna erotic during adolescence, Bern says (SN: 8/10/96, p.
Gays and lesbians love the Jeep Wrangler for its off-road capability--and because this rough-and-tumble open-air vehicle can make even a trip to the Laundromat feel like an adventure.