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HOOLIGAN

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 12:57 pm
by Stargzer
The Communists have always had a way with words. In China and in the former Communist/Soviet bloc nations, one of the favorite charges used to arrest protestors seems to be "malicious hooliganism." They are not, it seems, Happy Hooligans.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

hooligan

SYLLABICATION: hoo·li·gan
PRONUNCIATION: hImage'lĭ-gImagen
NOUN: A tough and aggressive or violent youth.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown.
OTHER FORMS: hooli·gan·ism —NOUN


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
From the Online Etymology Dictionary:
hooligan
1890s, of unknown origin, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly from the surname Houlihan, supposedly from a lively family of that name in London (who figured in music hall songs of the decade). Internationalized 20c. in communist rhetoric as Rus. khuligan, opprobrium for "scofflaws, political dissenters, etc."
(Edited to add etymology)

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 3:11 pm
by Apoclima
Sounds Irish to me!

HOOLIGAN

Apo

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 4:28 pm
by Stargzer
Yes, the Online Etymology Dictionary entry says much the same thing. We Irish have always been a spirited lot! :D

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:59 pm
by Apoclima
Larry:
We Irish have always been a spirited lot!
At least a quarter of me agrees!

Apo