Dullroar

For who-knows-what reason, this morning I was pondering how odd it is that we have two words, "hooligan" and "hoodlum", that look similar and have the same meaning. Why isn't one word enough? What's the difference? If I mug an old lady on the street, which of those words would best describe me? Luckily, CMU has a subscription to the OED, which says:

hooligan - A young street rough, a member of a street gang.

hoodlum - A youthful street rowdy; 'a loafing youth of mischievous proclivities'; a dangerous rough.

It seems that the hoodlum is the older, more hardened version of a hooligan. I'm 30, and while that might qualify as youthful, it's probably not young. "Hoodlum" it is.