rough trade

[ ruhf treyd ]

noun

, Slang.

1. gay male prostitution, especially involving brutality or sadism.
2. a gay male prostitute who engages in brutality or sadism, or such gay men collectively.
3. violent, often brutal sex acts.
4. a lower-class man who is found sexually attractive by a gay man from a higher social class.

rough trade

noun

1. slang.
   (in homosexual use) a tough or violent sexual partner, esp a lorry driver, construction worker, or docker, casually picked up

Word History and Origins

Origin of rough trade¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Complaints about Rough Trade and founder Geoff Travis pepper the book.

From The Daily Beast

“The smell of money replaced the smell of overcooked rice in the Rough Trade cloisters,” he writes.

From The Daily Beast

He loved teenage boys and rough trade and fell in love easily and often.

From The Daily Beast

Think what it meant to work out of such a crude, rough trade into one so delicate!

From Project Gutenberg

He is a simple workman, who toils ten hours a day at his rough trade of iron-worker to supply his wants.'

From Project Gutenberg