rabble » rubble

Chiefly in:   rubble-rousing , rubble-rouser

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • With a mise en scène that incorporates a backdrop of urban dystopia and decay, apocalyptic horsemen on hobbyhorses, a Shaker tune/Rumi poem mash-up, and rowdy audience feedback (which is highly encouraged), this rubble-rousing performance should make the usual picketing and sloganeering seem downright conservative. (link)
  • Fortunately, millions of you didn’t fall for any of that liberal rubble-rousing. (link)
  • It is easy for a rubble-rouser in a democratic garb to rise (and rise fast) to the highest pinnacle of power. (link)
  • Then, from an entirely different perspective, some rubble-rouser like Jean-Marie Le Pen will come up with an inflammatory statement and single-handedly revive the discussion about the nature of Nazi occupation in the Second World War. (link)

Analyzed or reported by:

Bernard Greenberg notes:

> Rabble, denoting masses of “ordinary” people, has fallen out of currency; in its wake, rubble, today de facto limited to the granular ruins of bombed structures, is usurping it in this phrase, giving us rubble rouser to eggcornically suggest one whose vigorous actions stir up dust-storms.

See also _rebel-rouser_.

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2005/07/03 |

rabble » rebel

Chiefly in:   rebel rouser

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • When he got home from the army, he was a bit of a rebel rouser type, from what I understand. (Alleghany News Online, Oct. 17, 2002)
  • He was portrayed as a political dissenter and a rebel rouser. (Middlebury Campus, Nov. 7, 2001)
  • If you get pegged as a rebel-rouser, eventually you’ll be shoved out. (Juilliard Journal Online, Feb. 2005)

Analyzed or reported by:

Popularized by Duane Eddy’s 1958 hit, “Rebel-Rouser.”

See also _rubble-rouser_.

| 1 comment | link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/16 |