I suspect the word no longer held much punch after about 1964, when Tom Lehrer referred to “these times of strife, and universal brouhaha.”
Are people using “hooligan” to mean an event, like a brawl? If so, is this a British usage? Or am I misunderstanding you completely?
My dictionaries (as well as my past experience up until this thread) define it only as a type of person. There is “hooliganism” though, meaning the sorts of activities hooligans engage in.
Curse you, Rasa! You have stolen rumpus from me! I am clearly vexed.
Is there a linky poo poo that has wonder old words ?
Ha ha ha coughcoughcough
You beat me to it, too, so I had to at least follow up. 
I use bruhaha almost 10 times a day. Any sort of crisis at work is referred to, by me, as a bruhaha.
I also use HooHa, but for a much different thing.
But I like fracas!!! I’ll have to look into adopting that. I’d like it if more people said HOT DOG! as an expression of joy.
What a coincidence that you ask that. I use the word and would like to point out that there’s a brouhaha going on right now in this thread.
Ooooooh, Luciferous Logolepsy
9000 obscure words.
Ooooooooooooooooh, my husband suffers from Schizothemia.
I’ve been known to say “brouhaha,” although, being Canadian, I’m more likely to say “kerfuffle.”
Ahem.
Shenanigans.
'Nuff said.
I love to use the word brouhaha!
I remember when Breakfast Club came out, the word on everyone’s lips was “ruckus”, but I prefer brouhaha
The latter (you’re misunderstanding me completely). My bad, though. I should’ve noted that they were referring to the people involved as hooligans. I’ve seen the word gain credence (here in America) as the standard thinly-veiled racist dismissal of “those European soccer fans”, but I thought it was great that it was becoming a “dictionary word” with a specific meaning that applied only temporarily to the people in the scuffle. I hope that trend continues and that one day we won’t hear about “those damn hooligans and their damn fool sport” 24/7 on American talk radio every time a World Cup comes around. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled thread…
I nominate “kerfuffle” as one of America’s most underappreciated words.
The Beastie Boys do.
I use most of the words mentioned above, but a favorite term for such an occasion was given to me in my youth…
a “knockdown, drag-out rhubarb”.