roughneck en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈɹʌfˌnɛk/
Etymology
From rough + neck, originally "someone who works a manual labour job".
Meanings
-
(US, colloquial) A labourer on an oil rig or in the oilpatch, either skilled or semiskilled.
As for the minerals, there has been a good deal of drilling along the big river; trucks and roughnecks no longer garner any notice.
2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 286:This first ship had a small geophysical-type drilling rig mounted over the side of the ship with a steel grid runround for the roughnecks, who stood in knee-deep water while making connections or pulling the drill string.
1992, Elmer P. Wheaton, “William Bradford Whitehill Rand”, in Memorial Tributes: Volume 5, page 234:
- (US, colloquial, dated) A dirty or low-paid worker, a labourer; an ironworker in an ironworks or a steelworker in a steelworks.
-
(US, colloquial) Someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person.
LaTisha has long wanted to show Carole sheʼs not the roughneck she used to be, the roughneck who wasnʼt good enough to be her friend.
2019, Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other, Penguin Books (2020), page 202:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| roughnecks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (14)
pt casca-grossa (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · pt malcriado (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · hu vagány (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · hu bunkó (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · fr arriéré (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · hu segédmunkás (ironworker; dirty or low-paid worker, laborer) · hu rakodómunkás (ironworker; dirty or low-paid worker, laborer) · de Raubein (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · fr ours mal léché (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · bg грубиян (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · hu tahó (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · hu olajfúró (a laborer on an oil rig) · pt grosseirão (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person) · ota طولومبهجی (someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person)