Larrikin

Depiction of a larrikin, from Nelson P. Whitelocke's book A Walk in Sydney Streets on the Shady Side (1885)

Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good-hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions".[1]

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term generally meant "a lout, a hoodlum"[2] or "a young urban rough, a hooligan",[1] meanings which became obsolete.[2]

  1. ^ a b Ludowyk, Frederick; Moore, Bruce (2000). Oxford Modern Australian Dictionary.
  2. ^ a b Delbridge, Arthur (2009). Macquarie Dictionary (5th ed.). Sydney: Macquarie Library. p. 943. ISBN 9781876429669.