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Knockabout   Listen
noun
Knockabout  n.  
1.
(Naut.) A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib; a sloop with a simplified rig and no bowsprit. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout.
2.
A knockabout performer or performance. (Theat. Slang)
3.
A man hired on a sheep station to do odd jobs. (Colloq., Australia)


adjective
knockabout  adj.  
1.
Marked by knocking about or roughness.
2.
Of noisy and violent character; marked by farce, pratfalls, and horseplay; as, knockabout comedy. (Theat. Slang)
Synonyms: boisterous, slapstick.
3.
Characterized by, or suitable for, knocking about, or traveling or wandering hither and thither; suitable for use in rough activity; suited for everyday use; used especially of clothing.
Synonyms: casual, everyday.
4.
That does odd jobs; said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station. (Collog., Australia)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Knockabout" Quotes from Famous Books



... increased by a sudden foreboding, for Janet, the maid, had looked at him so strangely, moved him to quick action. He threw the door open instantly. What he saw did not reassure him. William was clad in funeral black. He wore a long frock coat instead of the usual knockabout suit he affected on the farm. His face was white and haggard. There was an ...
— A Little Book for Christmas • Cyrus Townsend Brady
... replied, "last week my little son had his knockabout suit dry-cleaned in Perthshire by the petrol-substitute process. This morning he climbed upon the back of the car to see whether his Silver Campine had laid an ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Nov 21, 1917 • Various
... a loss, Comrade Jackson,' said Psmith, 'to understand your attitude. You fed sumptuously. You had fun with the crockery—that knockabout act of yours with the water-jug was alone worth the money—and you had the advantage of listening to the views of a master of his subject. What ...
— Psmith in the City • P. G. Wodehouse


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