ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hoon around

phr. v..
C1 Advanced Oxford Informal Slang

phr. v.. to drive a car in a fast, noisy, or dangerous way to show off.

phr. v.. to drive a motor vehicle recklessly or at high speed, typically in a public area; marked as informal and specific to certain regional varieties.


SIMPLE

The teenagers like to hoon around the empty car park at night.

CONTEXTUAL

Residents complained to the police about local youths who hoon around the quiet suburban streets every Friday evening.

COMPLEX

The local council installed speed bumps to prevent enthusiasts from hooning around the coastal road during the summer months.

Particles
around
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
hoon + around
Usage

usually used in the continuous form (hooning around) to describe a repeated or ongoing activity.

Teaching tip

this is a culturally specific term primarily used in Australia and New Zealand; it carries a negative connotation of being a public nuisance.

Pitfall

They were hooning around of the block.They were hooning around the block.the phrase acts as an intransitive verb or takes a prepositional object directly; do not add 'of' after 'around'.

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