rapscallion
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rapscallion
1690–1700; earlier rascallion, based on rascal
Explanation
A rapscallion is a mischievous jokester. Instead of getting angry when he realizes his shoelaces have been tied together, your grandfather might say, "Which of you rapscallions is responsible for this?" Rapscallion is an old fashioned word for scamp or scoundrel. It's most often used in a lighthearted way: "Some rapscallion seems to have replaced the cream in my Oreo with toothpaste — then again, it is April Fools Day!" Rapscallion, first used in the 1600s, was originally rascallion, a fancier version of rascal, which comes from the Old French rascaille, "rabble or mob."
Vocabulary lists containing rapscallion
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Wayne State Word Warriors Words to Rescue, 2014-2015 Edition
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The Miseducation of Cameron Post
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Soon Rapscallion Alvarez was specifically charged with furthering the smugglery of $250,000 worth of silk into Mexico.
From Time Magazine Archive
Decked out in an antelope suede jacket, black hip-hugging bell-bottoms and tan suede shoes, he is more Ralph the Rapscallion, enjoying "the usual recreations of a young man."
From Time Magazine Archive
By the Trains named, Rapscallion College tickets will be collected at Whitewater on the Down journey, and at Smokingham on the Up journey.
From The Iron Horse by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
I don't think he could have meant better than Rapscallion; he's awfully fond of that horse.
From The Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors by Andrews, Mary Raymond Shipman
The vacation has come to an end, and the boys of Rapscallion College will, on a certain day, pour down on the railway in shoals with money in hand and a confident demand for accommodation.
From The Iron Horse by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
