Dictionary

wrong 'un en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From wrong + one. Compare young'un.

Meanings

1. (UK, derogatory, slang) A dishonest or disreputable person; a crook or rogue.
   • We might not have had that much to pinch, but they'd still have your brass candlesticks off the mantelpiece. There's always wrong 'uns, in every walk of life, who'll have whatever you've got from under your nose. 2000, Gilda O'Neill, My East End: Memories of Life in Cockney London:
   • Some reasons why Naseem Hamed might have been stripped of his MBE for speeding, where acknowledged wrong 'uns Jeffrey Archer, Shirley Porter and Mark Thatcher kept their honours. 2007 January 5, The Guardian, G2 p. 3:
2. A googly.
3. A horse deliberately held back in order to lose a race.

Forms

Relateds

good 'un · bad 'un