different between scuffle vs dustup

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?sk?f?l/
• Rhymes: -?f?l
• Hyphenation: scuf?fle

Etymology 1

Possibly of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (sku?), from Proto-Indo-European *skewb?-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skuba? (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”).

Noun

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters.
2. (archaic) A child's pinafore or bib.

Translations

Verb

scuffle (third-person singular simple present scuffles, present participle scuffling, simple past and past participle scuffled)

1. (intransitive) To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters.
2. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait.
3. (slang) To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially.

Translations

Etymology 2

A borrowing from Dutch schoffel.

Noun

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A Dutch hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling.

Synonyms

• (Dutch hoe): scuffle hoe

Translations

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

English

Alternative forms

• dust-up

Etymology

dust +? up

Noun

dustup (plural dustups)

1. (informal) A scuffle or fight.
2. (informal, by extension) An argument or dispute.

Quotations

• 2005, Seattle Times, 21 June,

  The incident followed other dustups between the two parties over the conduct of the war on terrorism.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fight
• See also Thesaurus:dispute

Translations