Yobberies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Acts of unruly or aggressive behavior typically associated with young troublemakers ; incidents of rowdy or vandalistic conduct carried out by youths ; examples of boisterous or disruptive actions often attributed to juvenile delinquents
2. Episodes involving disruptive or violent behavior by adolescents ; manifestations of antisocial or troublesome acts linked to young offenders ; examples of reckless or disorderly conduct frequently caused by teenagers
3. Behavior characterized by hooliganism or mischief mostly performed by young people ; occurrences of disorderly or lawless activities associated with youth ; patterns of rowdiness and nuisance-making often involving young individuals

Etymology: "Yob" is a back-formation: the older slang "boy" was read backwards, as "yob", and by the late 1800s the new word had a sharper, rowdier edge. The suffix at the end, "-ery", comes from Old French "-erie", which English used to form nouns naming a collective, a behaviour, or a place associated with something, as in "bravery" or "roguery." Put together, "yobbery" names the kind of conduct a yob gets up to, and it is a fairly recent coinage built from that familiar pattern. The plural "yobberies" simply counts separate acts of such behaviour, so it refers to individual outbursts of rowdy youthful mischief rather than to a general state of loutishness.

Synonyms: hooliganism, rowdiness, vandalism, delinquency, rioting

Antonyms: peacefulness, orderliness, calmness