Roustabout vs. Roughneck

Roustaboutnoun

an unskilled laborer, especially at an oilfield, at a circus or on a ship, 19

Roustaboutnoun

A laborer, especially a deck hand, on a river steamboat, who moves the cargo, loads and unloads wood, and the like; in an opprobrious sense, a shiftless vagrant who lives by chance jobs.

Roustaboutnoun

a member of a ship's crew who performs manual labor

Roustabout

Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills.

Roughnecknoun

Someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person.

Roughnecknoun

An ironworker; a dirty or low-paid worker, a labourer.

Roughnecknoun

A labourer on an oil rig.

Roughneckverb

To work as a laborer on an oil rig

Roughnecknoun

a cruel and brutal fellow

Roughneck

Roughneck is a term for a person whose occupation is hard manual labor. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with the workers on a drilling rig.