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. ... The word roughneck was in use in the U.S. oil drilling industry even earlier and had a similar meaning.

Why do they call them roughnecks?

Roughnecks weren't always brutes — the term comes from Texas and used to just refer to a “rugged individual.” Then it was a word for someone who worked on an oil rig. But now a roughneck is someone, usually a big man, who's tough, crude, and ready to fight. Roughnecks are the opposite of mild-mannered people.

What is a roughneck person?

1a : a rough or uncouth person. b : rowdy, tough. 2 : a worker of an oil-well-drilling crew other than the driller. roughneck.