Talk:Rapscallion

Etymology

Re: "scally" deriving from rapscallion" (Not sure this is true - surely scally derives from scallywag)." was moved from the front page to the talk page. This seems to be somewhat true but I can't find a good reference or confirmation, so I'll leave it on there but if anyone wants to take it off it's no skin off my back. Ofsevit (talk) 20:17, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

That was always my assumption as well - scally from scallywag. They all originate from 'rascallion' (rascal) so in some way you can link the two. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.120.225 (talk) 16:01, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Salvaging the content deleted per WP:MOSDAB

I agree with the previous edit that this probably shouldn't be in a disambiguation article, but it also seems like this content would be useful somewhere else in Wikipedia. Hence, I have copy-pasted the content deleted by the previous editor, so that others may include it elsewhere on Wikipedia if they wish. I lack the time/energy to integrate it myself :) -- Joren (talk) 21:37, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

A rapscallion is one who is playfully mischievous or a scoundrel. Rapscallion comes from the now-obsolete word "rascallion" meaning rascal. It is possible that the contemporary pejorative word for a vandal or youth who perpetrates antisocial behavior (such as petty theft, graffiti, or harassment). "Scally" is derived from "scallywag", whose origins come from "rapscallion". "Scally" is a common term for such individuals in the United Kingdom and Australia, but does not feature in American English. In South Africa the term Skollie has a similar meaning. However, in the American South following the Civil War, the term Scalawag was used as a pejorative label for Caucasians who supported Reconstruction. The term survives today as an analog to "scallywag".

References