donnybrook

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English

Etymology

Named from Donnybrook, a suburb of Dublin, the site of a notoriously disorderly annual fair.

Pronunciation

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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, p. 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, p. 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, p. 223:
      This was no innocuous donnybrook but a veritable carnival of thuggee.
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