A noisy disturbance or commotion; a loud argument or fight.
Origin uncertain, first appearing in English in the 1760s. Possibly related to 'rump' (rear) or derived from a dialectal or slang source. Maurice Sendak popularized it with 'Where the Wild Things Are: In the Night Kitchen' references.
The word 'rumpus' became iconic through children's literature—'Where the Wild Things Are' features 'wild rumpus,' and now the word is almost inseparable from imaginative chaos and joyful disorder in kids' media.
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