hoolie
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hoolie¹
- /ˈhuːli/ UK
- /ˈhuli/ US
Rhymes with -uːli
Where it comes from
From hool(igan) + -ie (diminutive suffix).
noun hoolies
-
Short for hooligan (“a young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group”).
Hooligans or hoolies are in it for the pure lust of violence and defence of turf and not really politics, although the subculture tends towards a right wing syndrome of working-class machismo and hostility to foreigners and to the better-off, better-dressed, and better-educated. Hoolies also tend to
Similar: hool, agitator, bad boy, bad news, bear, beggar, bhoy, blackguard, booger, boot boy, bovver boy, brat
hoolie²
- /ˈhuːli/ UK
- /ˈhuli/ US
Rhymes with -uːli
Where it comes from
A variant of hooley; the further etymology of etymology 2 sense 1 (“noisy celebration or party”) is unknown. Etymology 2 sense 2 (“strong wind”) is possibly from one of the following:
* borrowed from Orkney Scots hool(an) (“strong wind”) + English -ie (diminutive suffix). Hoolan is derived from Norn (unattested), from Old Norse ýlun (“howling, wailing”), from ýla (“to howl”) (ultimately onomatopoeic) + -un (suffix forming nouns).
* from etymology 2 sense 1.
* From “tulaidh” in Scottish Gaelic, often a prefix, indicating extremity, starkness, things taken to an ultimate extent, an absolute degree, which, lenited as “thulaidh” would be pronounced “hoolie”.
noun hoolies
- Alternative spelling of hooley (“a noisy celebration or party”). The celebratory ceilidh at the Culag Hotel in Lochinver is still talked about. 'Oh, it was a fine evening,' one discreet woman said to me. 'A right damn wild hoolie!' a well-oiled friend enthused.
- Alternative spelling of hooley (“a strong wind”). Bertie held mum's hand tightly as the wind was by now blowing a hoolie and Bertie did not feel very safe as he felt that he was close to being blown off his paws on more than one occasion.
Talk about this word "hoolie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hoolie. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hoolie. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hoolie "hoolie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hoolie.Cite this
@misc{hoolie_2026,
title = {hoolie},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hoolie},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
