hooligan meaning (informal): definition, etymology and quotations

hooligan

noun

/ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/

Etymology Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.

Informal A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group.

She also heard boys from other classes behind her talking: “So, Teacher Tang is a female hooligan.”2012, Tie Ning, The Bathing Women: A Novel:
And I was in danger of turning into a right little hooligan if left to my wayward ways.2013, Ken Sears, The Boy From Treacle Bumstead, →ISBN:

1 more example

“You are hooligan, you try to make trouble.” Sam paused, then continued. “Ah ha ha ha, I am right, I see it in your eyes. A hooligan!”2014, Cynthia Kadohata, Half a World Away, →ISBN:

Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of football hooligan.

These excursions abroad confirm that displacement has actually been a feature of the development of hooligan conflicts for some time, but an important wider point is that domestic hooligan displacement also seems to be a much more central issue today, as policing and other control strategies (segregation, seating, stewarding and CCTV in and around the larger English football grounds) have become more comprehensive, and especially as sentences for hooliganism have become much more forbidding.2013, Mark Perryman, Hooligan Wars: Causes and Effects of Football Violence, →ISBN:

US, Slang A member of the United States Coast Guard.

Many professional Navy and Coast Guard men were inclined to scoff. What kind of Navy was this, and what did they think they were up to, anyway? This bunch of hooligans wouldn't be any good to anyone; wouldn't be worth the powder to blow 'em to hell. Hooligan's Navy.1944, Lawrance Roger Thompson, The Navy Hunts the CGR 3070, page 7:
It often seemed to Al that the entire Coast Guard was a little embarrassed about being Coast Guardsmen—except maybe the cocky bearded men off the convoy cutters, who needed to apologize to no man because of any lack of battle stars. But in general, Army and Navy guys looked down on Hooligans.1957, Weldon Hill, Onionhead, page 251:

2 more examples

I frequently notice that the hooligans (a respectful reference to the U.S. Coast Guard) are a hard act to follow.1970, “Naval Engineers Journal”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 82, page 45:
Navy crew along the rail shouted smart-ass remarks and jeered at the hooligan doing his job.2013, Elizabeth Smith Doerning; Frank A. Smith, Jr., The Travels of a Happy Hooligan, →ISBN:

Derived terms: antihooligan, fooligan, hool, hoolie, hooligan firm, hooliganish, hooliganize, hooliganry, hooligan tool, hoolivan, hoonigan, Hughligan, Wholigan
Related terms: hooliganism, lout, thug, yob, yobbo

verb

Etymology Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.

To act as a hooligan (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

Broadly To treat (a person) roughly.

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Chinook Jargon ulakan, from Clatsop Chinook, with spelling and pronunciation influenced by the preceding.

A type of fish, an anadromous smelt, Thaleichthys pacificus, found in the North Pacific.

One year there was a strong wind. We couldn’t catch herring, but they were there. We caught lots of hooligans (smelt) and got through the year on those.1993, James H. Barker, quoting Larry John, “Smelt Running Season, Fish Hitting: Qusiirvik, Kaugun”, in Always Getting Ready: Upterrlainarluta: Yup’ik Eskimo Subsistence in Southwest Alaska, Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, →ISBN, page 72, column 2:
Haines and Klukwan hooligan harvesters reported that they exchanged hooligan products primarily for other food items, especially those unavailable in the Chilkat and Chilkoot area or those which were inaccessible to the harvester for various reasons. Respondents reported that virtually any wild food might be obtained for hooligan oil.1994, Martha F. Betts, The Subsistence Hooligan Fishery of the Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers, page 59:

2 more examples

Low-gradient, clear water streams on the western side of Portage Pass provide spawning and rearing habitat for red salmon, silver salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon, hooligan (smelt), and Dolly Varden (U.S. Bureau of Land Management 1977b).1995, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration & State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Whittier Access Project, Seward Highway to Port of Whittier, Alaska: Draft Environmental Impact Statement, page 4-8:
Hooligan (smelt) are often spotted from the point as they come in with the tide.2004, Kenai Peninsula Tour Guidebook, →ISBN, page 4:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.