rough-and-tumble

[ruhf-uh n-tuhm-buh l] /ˈrʌf ənˈtʌm bəl/
adjective
1.
characterized by violent, random, disorderly action and struggles:
a rough-and-tumble fight; He led an adventuresome, rough-and-tumble life.
2.
given to such action.
noun
3.
rough and unrestrained competition, fighting, struggling, etc.
Origin
1785-95
British Dictionary definitions for rough and tumble

rough-and-tumble

noun
1.
a fight or scuffle without rules
adjective
2.
characterized by roughness, disorderliness, and disregard for rules or conventions
Slang definitions & phrases for rough and tumble

rough-and-tumble

adjective

Free and uninhibited; with no limits or reservations; no holds barred: It was a rough-and-tumble confrontation

[1832+; originally of a fight where the usual rules were not observed; an article of 1810 says that ''in roughing and tumbling it is allowable to peel the skull, tear out the eyes, and smooth away the nose'']


Idioms and Phrases with rough and tumble

rough and tumble

Disorderly scuffling or infighting, as in She had some reservations about entering the rough and tumble of local politics. This expression originated in the late 1700s in boxing, where it referred to a fight without rules. [ Mid-1800s ]