scalawag

English

Alternative forms

• scallawag, scalliwag, scallywag, skalawag

Etymology

Of obscure origin, perhaps from the name of the Shetland village of Scalloway (from Old Norse Skálavágr), known for its dwarf ponies and dwarf cattle.

Noun

scalawag (plural scalawags)

1. (derogatory) A disreputable fellow, a good-for-nothing, a scapegrace, a blackguard.
2. (informal) A badly behaved person, especially a child; a mischief-maker; a rascal.
   • 2022 August 9, Ayo Edebiri & Shana Gohd, “Private School” (0:54 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows‎^[1], season 4, episode 5, spoken by Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry):

     “This ruckus never seems to end.” (Colin laughing) “He's very loud, and unlike us, he does not sleep during the day.” “Nor does he sleep during the night.” “When does he sleep?” “I don't think he does.” (glass breaks) “Never a dull moment with that scalawag.” “I'm pretty sure he must be part demon.” “Nonsense. He's all boy.”

3. (derogatory, archaic) A scrawny cow.
4. (derogatory, US, archaic or historical) Any white Southerner who supported the federal plan of Reconstruction after the American Civil War or who joined with the black freedmen and the carpetbaggers in support of Republican Party policies.
   • 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 803:

     “And you, Hugh Elsing, I’m ashamed of you! What will your poor mother say? Drunk and out with a—a Yankee-loving Scallawag like Captain Butler! […] ”

5. (Philippines, law enforcement, military) rogue police; rogue military personnel

Derived terms

• scally, scallie

References

• “scalawag”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Encyclopædia Britannica - scalawag