larrikin means exhibiting the behaviour or characteristics of a larrikin (noun sense).; Of or relating to, or behaving like, a hooligan; hooliganistic, thuggish. It carries an Arena rating of 1536, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, larrikin ranks #2,351 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,417 of 17,140 for The Improbable, #2,469 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,087 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words.
larrikin is pronounced /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/.
Why “larrikin” is a great word
A boisterously and playfully defiant person, often a young man, who subverts authority and convention with an underlying, if cheeky, good-heartedness. Its origin is uncertain, possibly a diminutive formation from a Northern English dialectal variant of 'lark' (meaning a frolic or an unruly person) with the suffix '-kin', first attested in Australian English in the 1860s. Unlike a hooligan (which implies malice and destruction) or a maverick (which denotes principled, independent thought), a larrikin is defined by his social, mischievous, and gleefully noisy rebellion. He is the hat worn at a jaunty angle on a uniform, the perfectly timed joke that deflates a pompous speech, and the raucous, harmless scuffle that clears the air—a testament to the spirit that challenges the edifice not to topple it, but to prove it can bear the weight of laughter.
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,
adj
- Exhibiting the behaviour or characteristics of a larrikin (noun sense).; Of or relating to, or behaving like, a hooligan; hooliganistic, thuggish.e.g.“Hoping my letter will have the desired effect of removing the larrikin nuisance especially in such a central portion of the town, […]”
- Exhibiting the behaviour or characteristics of a larrikin (noun sense).; Playfully rebellious against and contemptuous of authority and convention; maverick.
noun
- A young, brash, and impertinent, and possibly violent, troublemaker, especially one who is a gang member; a hooligan.
- A high-spirited person who playfully rebels against authority and conventional norms; a maverick or scamp.e.g.“On all occasions Captain Smith's military character was good, though he was always a bit of a larrikin, and had a way of practical joking.”
Words closest in meaning
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