Crossword Dictionary
ROUGH AND TUMBLE
rough and tumble - idiom
fighting between children that is not serious
Synonyms
disorderly, rough, rugged, strenuous, tempestuous, turbulent, buffeting, dry, grating, husky, knockabout, rasping, tough, wild
Examples
Classes and competitions also offer a controlled environment for your dog to practice, far removed from the rough and tumble environment of a real cattle herd.
Minor wounds are especially common in childhood because children engage in so much rough-and-tumble play.
If he is a rough and tumble boy who plays outside regardless of what he is wearing, then you should take that into consideration when making your purchase decision.
Etymology
rough (adj.)
Middle English rough (late 14c.), also rouhe, rouwe, roghe, rugh, etc., from Old English ruh, rug- "not smooth to the touch, coarse (of cloth); hairy, shaggy;" of hides, "undressed, untrimmed;" of ground, "uncultivated." This is from West Germanic *rukhwaz "shaggy, hairy, rough" (source also of Middle Dutch ruuch, Dutch ruig, Old High German ruher, German rauh)
and (conj.)
Old English and, ond, originally meaning "thereupon, next," from Proto-Germanic *unda (source also of Old Saxon endi, Old Frisian anda, Middle Dutch ende, Old High German enti, German und, Old Norse enn), from PIE root *en "in."
tumble (v.)
c. 1300, "to perform as an acrobat," also "to fall down," perhaps from a frequentative form of Old English tumbian "dance about, tumble, leap." This is of unknown origin but apparently related to Middle Low German tummelen "to turn, dance," Dutch tuimelen "to tumble," Old High German tumon, German taumeln "to turn, reel." Transitive sense from late 14c. Related: Tumbled; tumbling.