subs. phr. (common).—1. A free fight; a mellay: as adj. = boisterous.
1838. HALIBURTON (‘Sam Slick’), The Clockmaker, 2 S., 1. “Fair fight, or ROUGH AND TUMBLE,—we’ve whipped ’em, that’s a fact.”
1873. Conservative, 15 Feb. His talent for ROUGH AND TUMBLE does not hold his own against the more scientific style and larger frame of the Oxford Pet.
1883. PAYN, Thicker than Water, xiv. Ralph foresaw that there might be … “A ROUGH AND TUMBLE” with his young relative.
1883. The Lute, 15 Jan., 20, 1. “That Dreadful Boy” is, in point of fact, an old-fashioned ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE farce.
1888. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, xxxvii. Moran after his ROUGH AND TUMBLE with Jim … was ready for anything.
2. (venery).—The female pudendum: see MONOSYLLABLE: also THE ROUGH-AND-READY. Hence A BIT OF ROUGH = a woman.
