larrikin
/ˈlɛɹəkən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.71 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A young, brash, and impertinent, and possibly violent, troublemaker, especially one who is a gang member; a hooligan.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; Slang
noun
A high-spirited person who playfully rebels against authority and conventional norms; a maverick or scamp.
Australian usage; Slang
Example Sentences
- "To keep me out of trouble I was sent to the wood-gang Cascade an out station about two miles from headquarters. On arriving at this place the following dialogue passed between me and the overseer: […] "A bit of a larrikin, T——, but it won't do here, you know." "No odds about that—what's the work?""
- "I wish to call your attention to the annoyance foot passengers are subject to by the ill-behaviour and disgraceful conduct exhibited by the larrikins, and also from men (who ought to know better), who infest the market reserve for the purpose of disposing of their wood, and who, until they do so, are the cause of the annoyance above referred to, which I suppose they would term amusing themselves. The rows and fights which they betimes indulge in, accompanied by some of the foulest and most blasphemous language, frequently to passers-by, and also the obstruction of the footpath, ought to attract the attention of those at whose hands the remedy lies."
- "How dare you talk to me like that, you young larrikin? Be off! or I'll send for a policeman."
- "The reputation of the Melbourne larrikin was world wide, the larrikin being the forerunner of the hooligan. Law and education had failed to reform these larrikins, and at last some of the citizens hit on the method of forming cadet corps, which had proved to be a conspicuous success, and larrikinism was now dead; the streets of Melbourne knew it no more as a real source of terror."
- "Flagstaff Hill [in Dunedin] is a hill without a flagstaff. […] Another man told me there never had been a staff on the hill; but if there had been, perhaps larrikins would have removed it. For larrikinism is one of the evils of New Zealand. Everywhere there one hears of the larrikin, or young hoodlum. Larrikins are an unorganized, mischievous fraternity. They are always despoiling or marring public or private property or making people the butt of coarse jokes and jeers. If something is stolen, "the larrikins took it"; if windows or park seats are broken, "the larrikins did it.""
- "Come, sir, if he’s been cursed to hell, why don’t you bless him back again? What’s the good of your blessings if they can’t beat an Irish larrykin’s curse?"
Etymology
Origin uncertain, possibly from *larick (Northern England) (an unattested variant of lark (“bird of the family Alaudidae; frolic or romp, some fun; prank; (East Suffolk, obsolete) unruly or wild person”, noun), from laverock (“(chiefly Northern England, Scotland, archaic) lark (bird)”); compare the variant forms lairock, larrock (chiefly Northern England), larick, larrick (chiefly Scotland)) + -kin (diminutive suffix). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that it is not clear why a word attested in the West Midlands (particularly Warwickshire and Worcestershire) and in Southwest England (Cornwall) would be derived from a word from Northern England. Other suggestions include the following: * The word is an Irish policeman’s pronunciation of larking (“engaging in careless adventure, frolicking; engaging in harmless pranking, sporting”), heard by a reporter in a Melbourne police court around 1870. The Oxford English Dictionary states there is no evidence of such an incident having been reported in the local newspapers of the time, and that in any case the word is attested earlier in Cornwall, England (since the early 19th century), and in Australia (at least from 1867: see the quotation). * The first element of the word is from the name of an unknown Irishman named Larry. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɛɹəkən/
- British English: /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/
Usage
Inflected Forms
larrikins (plural)
larikin (alternative)
larrykin (alternative)
more larrikin (comparative)
most larrikin (superlative)