scalawag

American  

[skal-uh-wag] / ˈskæl əˌwæg /

especially British, scallywag

noun

1. a scamp; rascal.

2. U.S. History. a native white Southerner who collaborated with the occupying forces during Reconstruction, often for personal gain.

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scalawag British  

/ ˈskæləˌwæɡ /

noun

1. a variant of scallywag

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Other Word Forms

• scalawaggery noun
• scalawaggy adjective

Etymology

Origin of scalawag

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; origin uncertain

Explanation

A scalawag is a lying, no-good rascal. Scalawags are not to be trusted, but sometimes they’re a little bit cute. A scalawag would take the cookies right off your plate! This funny, old-fashioned word refers to people who are deceitful and untrustworthy. Scalawags are up to no good. Someone who steals your wallet or lies to your face is a scalawag. Scalawags play tricks and break laws, but they don’t do serious crimes. In U.S. history, scalawag has a more specific meaning: it refers to white Southerners who, after the American Civil War, supported the policies of Reconstruction that dismantled the Confederacy and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people.

Example Sentences

Chadha-Patel is ambiguously charming as a scalawag not entirely out for himself.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2022

So, I kind of am the scalawag at Joni’s and the girl that plays Madison Square Garden in the trails, too.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2021

Caballero, the most prolific scalawag identified by the super-recognizers to date, received only four years in prison.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 15, 2016

I recall sitting there as Starr, his blue eyes owlish, his skin pink and dimpled, sat before Congress and in a sonorous I-say-this-more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger tone, pounced light as a cat on a scalawag president.

From New York Times • May 26, 2016

That just encouraged him to keep up his reputation as the number one scalawag in Sassafras Springs.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney