A rapscallion is a mischievous person, especially someone who's playfully naughty rather than truly bad. Think of a kid who sneaks cookies before dinner, hides their sibling's homework as a prank, or convinces friends to explore the woods when they should be doing chores. A rapscallion causes trouble, but usually the harmless, adventurous kind.

The word has an old-fashioned, almost affectionate feel to it. You might hear it in classic adventure stories where a clever character bends the rules but has a good heart underneath. Tom Sawyer, who tricks his friends into whitewashing a fence for him, acts like a rapscallion. When a grandfather calls his grandson a little rapscallion for putting a rubber spider in his sister's lunch box, he's acknowledging the mischief while also suggesting it's not serious wrongdoing.

A rapscallion is different from a bully or a truly mean person. Rapscallions are rascals and scoundrels who stir up fun and chaos, not cruelty. They might bend rules, but they don't mean to break trust. The word captures that spirit of playful troublemaking that frustrates adults but rarely causes real harm.