rapscallion

rapscallion pronunciation

/rap-SKAL-yun/

Meaning

An old-fashioned word for a scamp or ne'er-do-well. In rural Southern talk it often lands soft: grandma calling a grandkid a rapscallion after they hid her snuff, or a neighbor labeling the boy who egged the barn. It can get sharper when somebody is truly no-account, but most days it is colorful scolding more than a hard curse.

How folks use it

• “You little rapscallion, who put the frog in the washtub?”
• “That rapscallion next door stole gas out of every truck on the road.”

Origin and etymology

English from the mid-1600s. It grew out of rascallion, a dressed-up form of rascal. Not born in the South, but Southern storytellers and old-timers kept the fancy insult alive after it faded in everyday city talk. Same family as rascal and scoundrel, just longer and more playful.

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