affray, disturbance, fray, ruffle
(noun) a noisy fight
affray, altercation, fracas
(noun) noisy quarrel
Source: WordNet® 3.1
affray (third-person singular simple present affrays, present participle affraying, simple past and past participle affrayed)
(archaic, transitive) To startle from quiet; to alarm.
(archaic, transitive) To frighten; to scare; to frighten away.
affray (countable and uncountable, plural affrays)
The act of suddenly disturbing anyone; an assault or attack.
A tumultuous assault or quarrel.
The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others.
(obsolete) Terror.
• fray, brawl
• alarm, terror, fright
Source: Wiktionary
Af*fray", v. t. [p. p. Affrayed.] Etym: [OE. afraien, affraien, OF. effreer, esfreer, F. effrayer, orig. to disquiet, put out of peace, fr. L. ex + OHG. fridu peace (akin to E. free). Cf. Afraid, Fray, Frith inclosure.] [Archaic]
1. To startle from quiet; to alarm. Smale foules a great heap That had afrayed [affrayed] me out of my sleep. Chaucer.
2. To frighten; to scare; to frighten away. That voice doth us affray. Shak.
Af*fray", n. Etym: [OE. afrai, affrai, OF. esfrei, F. effroi, fr. OF. esfreer. See Affray, v. t.]
1. The act of suddenly disturbing any one; an assault or attack. [Obs.]
2. Alarm; terror; fright. [Obs.] Spenser.
3. A tumultuous assault or quarrel; a brawl; a fray. "In the very midst of the affray." Motley.
4. (Law)
Definition: The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others. Blackstone.
Note: A fighting in private is not, in a legal sense, an affray.
Syn.
– Quarrel; brawl; scuffle; encounter; fight; contest; feud; tumult; disturbance.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
31 March 2025
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.
