scampsman
English
Etymology
From scamp + -s- + man.
Noun
scampsman (plural scampsmen)
- (dated, slang) highwayman
- 1834, Ainsworth, William Harrison, 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, Dixon, James Henry, ed., “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.
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Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:highwayman