scampsman

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English

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Etymology

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From scamp +‎ -s- +‎ man.

Noun

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scampsman (plural scampsmen)

  1. (dated, slang) highwayman
    • 1834, William Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood, The Game of High Toby:
      Now Oliver puts his blank nightcap on,¶ And every star its glim is hiding,¶ And forth to the heath is the scampsman gone,¶ His matchless cherry-black prancer riding;
    • 1846, James Henry, ed. Dixon, “The Trotting Horse”, in Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, page 244:
      Up comes some saucy kiddy, a scampsman on the hot, / But ere he pulls the trigger I am off just like a shot.

Synonyms

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