larrikin

n. 恶棍 a. 无赖的, 喧闹的

发音

UK /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/
US /ˈlɛɹəkən/
AU /ˈlæɹək(ə)n/

词形变化

larrikins 复数 larrikins more larrikin 比较级 most larrikin 最高级

别名

larikin larrykin

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    A young, brash, and impertinent, and possibly violent, troublemaker, especially one who is a gang member; a hooligan.

    澳大利亚 新西兰 历史 俚语

    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?

  2. 2.

    A high-spirited person who playfully rebels against authority and conventional norms; a maverick or scamp.

    澳大利亚 俚语 引申义
adj.
  1. 1.

    Exhibiting the behaviour or characteristics of a larrikin (noun sense).

    Of or relating to, or behaving like, a hooligan; hooliganistic, thuggish.

    澳大利亚 历史 俚语
  2. 2.

    Exhibiting the behaviour or characteristics of a larrikin (noun sense).

    Playfully rebellious against and contemptuous of authority and convention; maverick.

    澳大利亚 俚语 引申义

词源

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.

来源：wiktionary