Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Behavior or character typical of a rascal.
- noun A base or mischievous act.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Low or mean people collectively; rascals in general; rascaldom: now used chiefly in the moral sense. See
rascal , a., 2. - noun The character or an action of a rascal; the quality of being a rascal; low or mean trickery; base or dishonest procedure; villainy; fraud.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being rascally, or a rascal; mean trickishness or dishonesty; base fraud.
- noun obsolete The poorer and lower classes of people.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Rascals collectively; therabble , themasses . - noun The behavior of a
rascal .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the quality of being a slippery rascal
- noun reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
- noun the trait of indulging in disreputable pranks
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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_Educated rascality is infinitely more of a menace to society than ignorant rascality_.
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Not exactly, dear! "replied her grandfather; –" but such little-minded rascality is not just the vice one would expect to find in a gallant soldier. "
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I hope the Committee will not act so unjustly as to turn their backs on all cases because there is 'rascality' in some; because there is rascality in some cases, why should a just cause suffer?
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He shall learn that this kind of rascality is not permitted by the nobles of France.
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Being suspected of "rascality" in this direction, he was arrested and put in jail, but as no evidence could be found against him he was soon released.
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There was no remedy for what was called by Lord Lovat's friends, the "rascality" of the judges: -- and again this unworthy Highlander was driven from his own country to seek safety in the land wherein his offences had received their pardon.
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The way he did it brought him under the just accusation of being guilty of every kind of rascality known to politics.
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The courts rapidly lost their power, and the worst people, both Americans and Creoles, practised every kind of rascality with impunity.
The Winning of the West, Volume 2 From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, 1777-1783
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The way he did it brought him under the just accusation of being guilty of every kind of rascality known to politics.
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The probability is, that this single experience educated him so far that his next employer would have no occasion to complain of his "rascality;" and I very much doubt if any amount of
A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States; With Remarks on Their Economy
yarb commented on the word rascality
...you have made away with a candlestick, a necklace, and a pair of drop ear-rings: and what is worse, you have committed your rascalities in the livery of the law.
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 2 ch. 5
September 13, 2008