scallywag
Americannoun
noun
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informal a scamp; rascal
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(after the US Civil War) a White Southerner who supported the Republican Party and its policy of Black emancipation. Scallywags were viewed as traitors by their fellow Southerners
Etymology
Origin of scallywag
C19: (originally undersized animal) of uncertain origin
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.
“He was very mischievous, a real scallywag, but such great fun, we miss him everyday”, she said.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2024
“Kenny Wells was one of those guys. That’s just who he is. You can say, ‘Oh he’s such a scallywag.’
From The Guardian • Jan. 28, 2017
The 21-year-old rocker, who has rarely left his native Phnom Penh, taught himself English by watching gangster films until he talked like a Manchester scallywag.
From Slate • Jan. 10, 2014
“Those scallywag owners need to recognize that underneath it all, mascots are people, too.”
From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2012
“You’ll do nothing of the sort! You young scallywag, I could give you a ten-second start and still beat you to the top of the wall! D’you want to try me?”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
