View synonyms for roustabout

roustabout

[ roust-uh-bout ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a wharf laborer or deck hand, as on the Mississippi River.
an unskilled laborer who lives by odd jobs.
a circus laborer who helps in setting up and taking down the tents and in caring for the animals, equipment, and grounds.
any unskilled laborer working in an oil field. Compare roughneck ( def 2 ).

roustabout

/ ˈraʊstəˌbaʊt /

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; roust + about

The state contends he hired Joe Gentz, 50, a local roustabout, to kill his wife of 26 years.

Conservatives, notably Rush Limbaugh, leapt on CBS today to complain that late night would now be an overtly left-wing roustabout.

More likely to be a stowaway on a merchantman and then roustabout on a cattle boat, or some such thing.

Burris is always yelling about not getting enough overtime work, but you know how it is: he's just a roustabout, a common laborer.

A razor-back, or tent roustabout, struck Johnny on the head with a tent stake.

I was housemaid and roustabout from sunrise to weary sunset.

Then Kearny leaped to his feet and wrung my hand with the strength of a roustabout.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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