donnybrook

English

Etymology

Named from Donnybrook Fair, a notoriously disorderly event, held annually from 1204 until the middle of the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈdɒnɪbrʊk/

Noun

donnybrook (plural donnybrooks)

1. A brawl or fracas; a scene of chaos.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘His Chance in Life’, Plain Tales from the Hills (Folio 2005), page 56:

     But the Hindus turned out and broke their heads; when, finding lawlessness pleasant, Hindus and Muhammadans together raised an aimless sort of Donnybrook just to see how far they could go.

   • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry for Freedom (Oxford 2003), page 200:

     Sherman's signature caused another donnybrook over the election of a speaker of the House when the 36th Congress convened in December 1859.

   • 2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea (Vintage 2003), page 223:

     This was no innocuous donnybrook but a veritable carnival of thuggee.

2. From the mid-1990s, references the types of brawls commonly seen at the PLEASURE DOME, held in the CRUISER district of MADISON, NJ.