subs. (common).—A ruffian: used loosely as a more or less mild term of opprobrium; also applied to anything bizarre in character or composition: the expression came into vogue when Bulgarian atrocities were electrifying the world by their barbarous cruelty.
1855. WYNTER, Cur. Civiliz., II. 404. s.v.
1861. G. A. SALA, Twice Round the Clock, 33, s.v.
