roughneck attitude
- noun
- /ˈrʌfˌnɛk ˈætɪˌtjud/
- Informal
:
actitud ruda
- Even in the face of danger, his roughneck attitude never wavered.
Examples
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The team's roughneck attitude helped them win the championship against tougher opponents.
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Many workers in the oil industry have a roughneck attitude.
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Some people appreciate a roughneck attitude, while others prefer a more sensitive approach.
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He approached the challenge with a roughneck attitude.
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Despite the risks involved, her roughneck attitude made her the perfect candidate for the job.
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He faced the criticism with a roughneck attitude, refusing to back down from his beliefs.
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In tough negotiations, a roughneck attitude can sometimes secure the best deals.
Synonyms
2
3.9
Noisy or violent behavior that shows little control
A bold, rude way of behaving that upsets people
Antonyms
How Aggressive
- Offensive
∞
2.5
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents are semantically transparent: 'roughneck' denotes an aggressive, unruly person and 'attitude' denotes a habitual manner or disposition, so the phrase straightforwardly means a manner characteristic of a roughneck. This noun–noun compositional pattern is regular in English and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Roughneck attitude comes from the word roughneck, a name for workers on oil rigs who did hard, dangerous jobs and often acted very tough. So a roughneck attitude means 'tough, fearless, and sometimes aggressive', someone who 'doesn't mind risk'.