scapegrace

American  

[skeyp-greys] / ˈskeɪpˌgreɪs /

noun

1. a complete rogue or rascal; a habitually unscrupulous person; scamp.

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scapegrace British  

/ ˈskeɪpˌɡreɪs /

noun

1. an idle mischievous person

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Etymology

Origin of scapegrace

First recorded in 1800–10; scape ² + grace

Example Sentences

Young Andrew, by contrast, looked a bit of a scapegrace, tie askew.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Not a bit, and you never will. You’ve grown bigger and bonnier, but you are the same scapegrace as ever.”

From Literature

Let her know that she has committed a crime that can land a person behind bars; but remember, too, that this scapegrace is a teenager for now, and your daughter for always.

From New York Times

The Porters were his difficult, scapegrace father’s family; the Coles were his mother’s rich and ambitious Indiana family.

From The New Yorker

Adam Gopnik, in this magazine, argued that the Starr report could be read “as a novel in the classic tradition,” with Bill Clinton as the scapegrace hero.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• rascal