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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2026 is:
rapscallion • \rap-SKAL-yun\ • noun
The word rapscallion refers to someone who causes trouble, often in a mischievous way. It appears in the same sorts of contexts as rascal and scamp.
// The movie follows the story of a rambunctious young rapscallion who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.
Examples:
“Charlie Brown evolved into a world-class underdog. ‘Originally, Charlie Brown was a bit of a rapscallion, a bit of a wiseass,’ [Chris] Mautner said. ‘There is a certain point, after a year or two, when he starts to become the butt of jokes, when he starts being a lonely kid. Once [Charles] Schulz hit upon that, Charlie Brown got it pretty bad for a long time.’” — Jim Beckerman, The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey), 9 Oct. 2025
Did you know?
The word rascal has been part of English since the 15th century, but it apparently failed to fully capture the disagreeable nature of the wily knaves of yore: by the 16th century, English speakers had expanded rascal to rascallion. But it seems that even that term didn’t sound quite mischievous enough. Eventually, rascallion was further altered, resulting in the snappier, plosive-enhanced rapscallion. And although rapscallion has zero connection with scallion, it does add a figuratively spicy kick to one’s speech, not unlike chawbacon and other cheeky insults that may be of interest and use.
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