roister-doister en · NOUN
Etymology
After Ralph Roister Doister, a 16th-century comic play by Nicholas Udall. See roister (“to engage in riotous behaviour”).
Meanings
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(archaic, derogatory) A swaggering buffoon; a foolish braggart.
A very artificiall beginning, to moove attention or to procure good-liking in the reader, unlesse he wrote onely to roister-doisters, and hacksters, or at least to jesters, and vices.
1593, Gabriel Harvey, Pierces Supererogation:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| roister-doisters | Number=Plur | lexicographic |