1842. Egan, Captain Macheath, v. A scampsman, you know, must always be bold.
3. (common).—A rogue; an arrant rascal; sometimes (colloquial) in jest. Hence scampish
roguish, tricky; scampery
roguery.
c. 1835. Dana, Before the Mast, 84. Among the Mexicans . . . every rich man looks like a grandee, and every poor scamp like a broken-down gentleman.
1849-50. Thackeray, Pendennis, xiii. The impudent bog-trotting scamp.
1854. Whyte-Melville, General Bounce, ii. Tom Blacke was a scamp of the first water.
d. 1859. De Quincey, Works, II. 43. He has done the scamp too much honour. Ibid., Spanish Nun, 23. The alcaïde personally renewed his regrets for the ridiculous scene of the two scampish occulists.
1879. Payn, High Spirits (Finding his Level). Vulgar dukes or scampish lords.
1883. Graphic, 24 Feb., 199, 3. All the scampery of Liverpool seems to be present.
1902. D. Mail, 14 Jan., 6, 3. Of all the scampish scamps unhung this specimen of perverted culture beats all.
Verb. (common).—2. To do carelessly and ill; to give bad work or short measure.
1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab., III. 240. Scamping adds at least 200 per cent. to the productions of the cabinet-maker's trade.
1862. London Herald, 27 Dec., 'Answers to Corresp.' Find out, if it is an estate where any scamping is allowed to create heavy ground rents.
1881. Payn, Grape from a Thorn, xlii. The idea of scamping her work . . . had no existence for her.
1883. Trollope, Autobiog., I. 164. It is not on my conscience that I have ever scamped my work. My novels, whether good or bad, have been as good as I could make them.
1886. D. Telegraph, 1 Jan. The work is as often . . . scamped as it is well done.
Scamper, verb. (old: B. E.,
c. 1696).—'To run away, or
Scowre off, either from Justice,
as Thieves, Debtors, Criminals,
that are pursued; or from ill
fortune, as Soldiers that are
repulst or worsted.'
Scandal-broth (chatter, or
water), subs. phr. (common).—Tea;
cat-lap (q.v.).—Grose.
Scandalous, subs. (old).—'A
Periwig.'—B. E. (c. 1696).
Scandal-proof (old).—1. 'A thorough pac'd Alsatian, or Minter, one harden'd or past Shame,' B. E. (c. 1696); and (2) 'one who has eaten shame and drank after it, or would blush at being ashamed,' Grose (1785).
Scanmag, subs. (common).—Scandalous
jobber; pettifogging
slander; talk. [Short and derisive
for Scandalum magnatum.]
1883. G. A. S[ala] [Illustr. London News, 31 March, 310, 3]. The audience have to listen to the bucolic drolleries of his groom, Saul Mash, and the provincial scanmag of the notabilities of the little country town. Ibid. (1861), Twice Round the Clock, One p.m., Par. 2. The swarms of flies . . . inebriating themselves with saccharine suction in the grocers' shops, and noisily buzzing their scanmag in private parlours.
Scant-OF-grace, subs. (colloquial).—A
scapegrace.
1821. Scott, Kenilworth, iii. You associate yourself with a sort of scant-of-grace.
Scape, subs. (old).—1. A cheat.
1599. Hall, Satires. Was there no 'plaining of the brewer's scape, Nor greedy vintner mixed the strained grape.
d. 1634. Chapman, Hom. Hymn to Apollo. Crafty mate What other scape canst thou excogitate?
