scapegrace
a person who behaves in a socially unacceptable way
TRANSLATION
scapegrace = schwarzes Schaf --- GOOGLE INDEX scapegrace: approximately 200,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Roger Straus, the SCAPEGRACE descendant of one branch of the Guggenheim family, founded the publishing house that bears his name.
(Washington Post)
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Any royal family needs one SCAPEGRACE member who will draw attention to the virtues of the others and provide the newspapers with some pleasantly titillating gossip.
(The Daily Mail)
(Washington Post)
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Any royal family needs one SCAPEGRACE member who will draw attention to the virtues of the others and provide the newspapers with some pleasantly titillating gossip.
(The Daily Mail)
Did you
know?
scapegrace
noun
- an idle, mischievous person
(Collins Dictionary)
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Scapegrace is a combination of "scape," as in escape, and grace in the context of mercy. Taken literally then, a scapegrace is a person who lacks God's grace.
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines scapegrace as "a man or boy of reckless and disorderly habits; an incorrigible scamp." The dictionary goes on to say that the term is used "playfully," implying that it is a harmless expression. This of course does not guarantee that someone won't be offended if you call them a scapegrace.
If they do however, you could always point out that the experts at Oxford claim that scapegrace is also another word for a "red-throated loon," a water bird found in the Northern Hemisphere. How this bird came to be known as a scapegrace is a mystery, as it is neither lazy nor does it exhibit reckless and disorderly habits.
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SYNONYMS
bum, derelict, miscreant, rascal, scamp, scallywag, tramp, vagabond
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I'd rather be called a scapegrace than a miscreant."
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Thanks to Birgit for suggesting today's word!
noun
- an idle, mischievous person
(Collins Dictionary)
---
Scapegrace is a combination of "scape," as in escape, and grace in the context of mercy. Taken literally then, a scapegrace is a person who lacks God's grace.
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines scapegrace as "a man or boy of reckless and disorderly habits; an incorrigible scamp." The dictionary goes on to say that the term is used "playfully," implying that it is a harmless expression. This of course does not guarantee that someone won't be offended if you call them a scapegrace.
If they do however, you could always point out that the experts at Oxford claim that scapegrace is also another word for a "red-throated loon," a water bird found in the Northern Hemisphere. How this bird came to be known as a scapegrace is a mystery, as it is neither lazy nor does it exhibit reckless and disorderly habits.
---
SYNONYMS
bum, derelict, miscreant, rascal, scamp, scallywag, tramp, vagabond
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I'd rather be called a scapegrace than a miscreant."
---
Thanks to Birgit for suggesting today's word!
