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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



... or to decoration because it is "the thing." And—as to humour: though nothing is more precious than the genuine topsy-turvy feeling, nothing is more pitifully unhumorous than the dragged-in epigram or dismal knockabout, which has no connection with the persons or ...
— Another Sheaf • John Galsworthy
... what it once was, what its name implies. If the old school inclined toward the rough too much, then certainly the new inclines distressingly toward the refined—the stage that once was so full of knockabout is now so full of stand-still; variety that was once a joy is now a bore. Just some uninteresting songs at the piano before a giddy drop is not enough these days; and there are too many of such. There is need of a greater activity for the eye. The return of the acrobat in a more modern dress ...
— Adventures in the Arts - Informal Chapters on Painters, Vaudeville, and Poets • Marsden Hartley
... anxiety, which was 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 instant interchange ...
— A Little Book for Christmas • Cyrus Townsend Brady


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