picaro
Charming lowborn adventurer
A picaro is a roguish wanderer who survives by wit and cunning rather than honest work—the kind of charming scoundrel who drifts through life getting into scrapes and talking his way out of them.
The term comes from Spanish and gives us picaresque, describing episodic novels following such characters through their adventures: Gil Blas is the archetypal picaro, stumbling from one misadventure to the next.
Dishonest, unscrupulous person
- knaveDishonest, unprincipled person
- rascalLovable troublemaker
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- rogueDishonest or uncontrolled agent
vagabond · rapscallion · scamp · ne'er-do-well · scalawag · wastrel · good-for-nothing · blackguard
Morally ambiguous main character
- bildungsromanFiction of psychological maturation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- episodicOccurring in distinct segments
- narrativeAccount of events
Tom Jones · social commentary · irony · parody · realism · vernacular · first-person · adventures
Rootless, roving person
- drifterAimless, rootless traveler
- roamerOne who wanders
- travelerOne who journeys
- wayfarerTraveler, especially walking
nomad · vagabond · itinerant · rover · rambler · journeyer · fortune-seeker · road
Cleverly deceptive
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- wilySkilled at deception
- shrewdPractically clever, perceptive
- artfulCleverly deceptive
cunning · scheming · resourceful · quick-witted · guileful · slippery · canny · devious
Deliberate deception or fraud
- pranksPlayful mischievous acts
- schemesCrafty organized plans
- capersPranks or tangy buds
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
roguery · tomfoolery · japes · high jinks · devilry · impishness · antics · escapade
scoundrel
Dishonest, unscrupulous person
rogue · vagabond · rapscallion · scamp · ne'er-do-well · scalawag · wastrel · good-for-nothing · blackguard · miscreant
antihero
Morally ambiguous main character
- bildungsromanFiction of psychological maturation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- episodicOccurring in distinct segments
narrative · Tom Jones · social commentary · irony · parody · realism · vernacular · first-person · adventures · rags
wanderer
Rootless, roving person
wayfarer · nomad · vagabond · itinerant · rover · rambler · journeyer · fortune-seeker · road · episodic
sly
Cleverly deceptive
artful · cunning · scheming · resourceful · quick-witted · guileful · slippery · canny · devious · calculating
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
shenanigans · roguery · tomfoolery · japes · high jinks · devilry · impishness · antics · escapade · hoax
picarosaint
Canonized holy person
paragon · man of honor · gentleman · straight arrow · do-gooder
picaronoble
Titled or virtuous
aristocrat · nobleman · grandee · patrician · blue blood
picaronoble hero
Admirable courageous protagonist
knight errant · romantic hero · epic hero · paladin · white knight