road hog, n.
[f. road n. 4 + hog n.1 7 c.]
One who is objectionable on the road; one who drives without consideration for others, esp. a reckless cyclist or motorist.
| 1891 Outing Dec. 238/2 The ‘road hog’ curses him and the wayside brute calls out the dog. 1898 Harper's Mag. XCVI. 689 Beware of Swiss drivers; they are the greatest ‘road hogs’ in Europe. 1909 Q. Rev. Jan. 143 The habitually reckless motorist..commonly known as the ‘road-hog’. 1925 Public Opinion 14 Aug. 151/3 Road-hogs who run down pedestrians. 1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase ii. 29 A fast saloon car..overtook them... ‘The beastly road⁓hog!’ said Mr. Perkins. 1970 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird iv. 52 You're a road-hog... What do you drive at home? 1972 K. Bonfiglioli Don't point that Thing at Me xiv. 122 ‘Lost my temper... Bloody roadhog.’ ‘He might easily have done us a mischief,’ I agreed. |
Hence ˈroad-hog v. intr., to be or act like a road hog; so ˈroad-hogging vbl. n. and ppl. a. Also ˈroad-hoggery, behaviour characteristic of a road hog; ˈroad-hoggish a., having the driving habits of a road hog; hence ˈroad-hoggishness; ˈroad-hoggism, a road-hoggish act.
| 1914 ‘I. Hay’ Knight on Wheels xviii. 174, I wouldn't go road-hogging if I were you... Road-hogging is rotten bad form. 1923 Daily Mail 28 May 5 In four days, without road-hogging, we have covered 646 miles of Britain. 1926 Glasgow Herald 12 July 6/3 The perfect Sunday—to hide at home while the rest of the world road-hogged it out of town. 1927 Scots Observer 16 July 10/4 Avoiding excess of speed and other road-hoggisms. 1928 Daily Express 24 Apr. 10/2 The road-hogging motor⁓coach. 1930 Time & Tide 7 Feb. 172 No motorist, however road-hoggish he may be, deliberately slays a child or any other person. 1933 A. Morris Digging in Southwest 80 Road-hogging is one of the most anti-social characteristics in the world. 1963 Guardian 21 Jan. 6/3 Chief vice of bad drivers.—Men: Sheer selfishness and road-hoggery. 1965 Punch 28 July 138/3 The film started with the customary pop music and some sinister hints of teenage drug-taking, road-hoggishness, violence and debauchery. Ibid. 20 Oct. 569/2 Some road-hoggery was due to the imperfect construction of the motor car. 1974 D. Francis Knock Down xiv. 174 Letting loose that road-hogging two-year-old. |