a knock-about turn
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A music-hall term for a 'noisy, boisterous act in which (usually) a. icouple of red-nosed comedians indulge in ^violent horseplay.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a knock-about turn” mean?
A music-hall term for a 'noisy, boisterous act in which (usually) a. icouple of red-nosed comedians indulge in ^violent horseplay.
Is “a knock-about turn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.