scalawag
Lovable little rogue
Scalawag is a mildly disapproving term for someone who behaves badly or causes trouble, though often with a sense of affection or amusement rather than genuine condemnation.
That little scalawag ate all the cookies.
Historically, scalawag had a sharper edge in the American South during Reconstruction, where it designated white Southerners who supported Republican policies and cooperated with federal authorities—considered traitors by their neighbors.
Dishonest, unscrupulous person
- rogueDishonest or uncontrolled agent
- knaveDishonest, unprincipled person
- cadDishonorable man
- rakeTined yard implement
dastard · blackguard · heel · cur · louse · wretch · sleazeball · lowlife
Mischievous young person
- rapscallionMischievous person, usually endearing
- impMinor mischief-making devil
- mischief-makerOne who causes trouble
- pranksterSomeone who plays tricks
rogue · knave · whippersnapper · urchin · tyke · devil · monkey · miscreant
Post-1865 national reunification period
- carpetbaggerExploitative political outsider
- Radical RepublicanCivil War-era progressive faction
- postbellumAfter a war
- turncoatOne who betrays allegiance
collaborator · Freedmen's Bureau · black suffrage · disenfranchisement · oath of allegiance · Redeemer
Act dishonestly to win
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- grifterPetty fraud perpetrator
- fraudsterCriminal deceiver for gain
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
trickster · schemer · crook · scammer · hustler · confidence man · sharper · flimflam artist
One who betrays allegiance
- betrayerOne who breaks allegiance
- defectorOne who abandons allegiance
- backstabberDisloyal pretend ally
- renegadeDeserter of a cause
quisling · collaborator · double-crosser · Judas · rat · fink · snitch · apostate
scoundrel
Dishonest, unscrupulous person
rake · dastard · blackguard · heel · cur · louse · wretch · sleazeball · lowlife · good-for-nothing
scamp
Mischievous young person
- rapscallionMischievous person, usually endearing
- impMinor mischief-making devil
- mischief-makerOne who causes trouble
prankster · rogue · knave · whippersnapper · urchin · tyke · devil · monkey · miscreant · gamin
Reconstruction
Post-1865 national reunification period
- carpetbaggerExploitative political outsider
- Radical RepublicanCivil War-era progressive faction
- postbellumAfter a war
turncoat · collaborator · Freedmen's Bureau · black suffrage · disenfranchisement · oath of allegiance · Redeemer
cheat
Act dishonestly to win
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- grifterPetty fraud perpetrator
- fraudsterCriminal deceiver for gain
charlatan · trickster · schemer · crook · scammer · hustler · confidence man · sharper · flimflam artist · mountebank
turncoat
One who betrays allegiance
- betrayerOne who breaks allegiance
- defectorOne who abandons allegiance
- backstabberDisloyal pretend ally
renegade · quisling · collaborator · double-crosser · Judas · rat · fink · snitch · apostate · informer
- Rascalsrascal, imp, scamp, rapscallion, little devil
- roguesrogue, rogues, scoundrel, scoundrels, rascal
- scoundrelsscoundrel, rogue, knave, cad, villain
- troublemakerstroublemaker, rascals, delinquents, imps, brats
- old insultsknave, varlet, scoundrel, rogue, blackguard
- Southern PoliticsDixiecrats, Jim Crow, poll tax, poll taxes, one-party rule
scalawaggentleman
Courteous, honorable man
lady · pillar of the community · man of honor · solid citizen · role model