Words Nasty People

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Top 10 Charming Words for Nasty People

#1: Ruffian

Definition: a brutal person; bully

#2: Scalawag

Definition: a mischievous and often morally corrupt person Examples: "The captain of Company L refused to recognize us; said we were deserters, and traitors, and scalawags; and when he drew rations for Company L from the commissary, he wouldn't give us any." – Jack London, The Road, 1907 "When times are good, the public generally prefers a scalawag. Clinton was the perfect president for the '90s boom years. Warren Harding would have been a great fit with the boom of the '20s. He drank. He played cards. He snuck out of the White House to go to girlie shows." – Bill Bonner, The Market Oracle, December 20, 2011 About the Word: Also spelled scallywag, this term may originally have referred to an animal of very little value. After the Civil War, scalawagcame to describe a white Southerner acting in support of reconstruction governments, often in pursuit of private gain; it was used to insult Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. The origin of scalawag is unknown, but one theory suggests there's a link to the Scottish scoloc, a first-born son given to the Church to educate. #3: Knave Definition: a tricky deceitful fellow Examples: "A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave ..." – William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1605-6 "A pro-Romney political action committee, Restore Our Future, spent more than $4 million ensuring that Iowans couldn't watch 10 minutes of television without being assaulted by an ad explaining why Gingrich was a scoundrel, a knave, a hack, a goon or – shudder – a closet liberal." – Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post, January 4, 2012 About the Word: The Bard was particularly fond of the word knave – it crops up throughout his plays. One of the oldest words in English, knavecomes the Old English cnafa, meaning "boy" or "male servant. #5: Reprobate Definition: a morally corrupt or depraved person Cad Source: read more here: http://www.merriam-webster.com/top-ten-lists/top-10-charming-words-for-nasty-people/knave.html