rabble-rouser
(ˈræb(ə)lraʊzə(r))
[f. rabble n.1 + rouser.]
a. One who practises rabble-rousing; a demagogue.
| 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xxii. 211 Nothing surpasses the munificent promises..of a genuine rabble rouser, just before an election. 1926 Even. Standard 12 July 3/2 You need not be a Tammany politician to know the meaning of boodle, gerrymander, carpet-bagger, wirepuller, rabble-rouser. 1959 ‘M. M. Kaye’ House of Shade xiv. 190 The murder of a rabble-rouser would probably be considered as of little account. 1972 Listener 28 Dec. 899/1 Thomas Paine..was never a rabble-rouser. 1978 J. A. Michener Chesapeake 543 Paul..astounded the more conservative Steeds by prevailing upon an itinerant Methodist rabble-rouser to spend five days at Devon. |
b. Something, esp. music, that excites an audience.
| 1958 New Statesman 1 Feb. 133/3 The symphony ends with a noisy finale which seemed no more than an unusually prolonged rabble-rouser. 1965 G. Melly Owning Up iv. 38 They chose their fastest, loudest numbers, ‘rabble rousers’ was the trade name, in the hope of making some impact on the audience. |