I'm looking for slang that means something like "tough guy" in a complimentary
way. If someone did something awesome like fight off a robber or save someone,
to the point where women envy him and men want to be him... so now people
might refer to him with this term when discussing him, or even yell it at him
on the street.
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2017-10-16T15:41:55.467
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2017-10-19T02:09:25.547
2017-10-16T16:11:36.160
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question
slang word-requests phrase-requests
How to say "Tough guy"
How about 親分(おやぶん)、大将(たいしょう).

清水次郎長

Excerpt from article of Japan times:
<https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/01/17/national/robin-hood-yakuzas-
legacy-sours-in-shizuoka/> **Yamamoto Chogoro (1820-1893), popularly known as
Shimizu Jirocho, is commonly regarded as a Robin Hood figure who helped the
weak by crushing the strong as a yakuza chieftain in the twilight years of the
Edo Period.**
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2017-10-17T23:03:18.750
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answer
「タフガイ」 would probably be the most common word even though I know from
experience that katakana words sometimes seriously disappoint the questioner
as an answer to this type of question.

Others with similar meanings would include:

・熱血漢{ねっけつかん}

・熱血[男児]{だんじ}

・腕{うで}っぷしの強{つよ}い男{おとこ} ← Not even a single word obviously but quite a common
phrase

Ones with underworld connotations:

・ごろつき

・ならず者{もの}

・無頼漢{ぶらいかん}
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answer