Monday, March 26, 2018

word request - How can you describe (in AmE) an aggressive guy who tends to fight with people most of the time?


What do you call someone who is an aggressive guy who is always making some kind of trouble which usually leads to a fight? Such a guy tends to turn a small issue into a fight. I found two terms and I was wondering if someone could let me know which one works here in a natural way:






  • He is a trouble.




  • He is a hell-on-wheels.





For me they both work properly, but I didn't find any reference showing that "trouble" works in this sense. Urban dictionary and some other sources somehow refer to the meaning in my question, though not completely.


I would appreciate it if they do not work properly here, someone could let me know what native speakers would call such a person in AmE.



Added: what I need is an AmE informal term.



Answer



The problem with your two suggestions:




  • He is a trouble.

  • He is a hell-on-wheels.



is that we do not use an indefinite article when using these terms. Instead, we could say:





  • He is trouble.

  • He is hell on wheels.



or maybe:




  • He is nothing but trouble.




If you wanted to use a noun with an indefinite article, we might say:




  • He is a troublemaker.





Incidentally, “hell on wheels” is an idiom, so the term needn’t be hyphenated. Also, I’m not sure it fits exactly what you describe in your question. Yes, it is used to describe a person or situation that is difficult to handle, but it doesn’t necessarily imply an argumentative spirit.



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