Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!howland.reston.ans.net!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!uchinews!ellis!deb5
From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Help with "Ramscallion"
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: midway.uchicago.edu
Message-ID: <DBF2BJ.MLu@midway.uchicago.edu>
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Reply-To: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: The University of Chicago
References: <3tk7ng$k9@newsbf02.news.aol.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Jul 1995 21:28:31 GMT
Lines: 24

In article <3tk7ng$k9@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, OBLQ <oblq@aol.com> wrote:
>When I was a small boy growing up my grandmother would often refer to me
>and my brother as little "ramscallions" (Sp?). I've not been able to find
>the word in any dictionary and so never knew what it meant until a few
>years ago.

Fie on the brusque poster who said "The correct spelling is rapscallion.
Look it up."  Even the OED2 doesn't go so far:  under "rascallion," it
simply notes "The later and more usual spelling is rapscallion (q.v.)."  
This just goes to show that, when dealing with the spelling of highly 
colloquial words like this, one shouldn't be too dogmatic.

They refer the reader to other words with a similar ending, like
rampallion and tatterdemalion, but don't go as far as to term rascallion
a blend of rascal and tatterdemalion.

Side note:  You might want to type "(sp?) instead of "(Sp?)" when unsure
of a spelling; the latter looks like an abbreviation of "(Spanish?)," 
which is an appropriate enough query in context (though the answer is
"No.").
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
