So, what's a picaroon?
Well, I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of it, because it's something people keep secret as long as they possibly can.
You see, if people found out then a picaroon would be in REALLY BIG TROUBLE.
A picaroon is a villain.
(Pause for nasty rattling laughter: yah-ha-ha-HA! followed by someone saying nothing shall stop me now...)
A picaroon is a rogue, or a thief (I do hope somewhere there's a macaroon picaroon) or a brigand. Or else he's a pirate.
You don't come across the word picaroon very often, but maybe it should be used it more often to remind ourselves that thieves and pirates are just poor weak folk who can't manage to make a living without hurting other people.
The related word picaresque does get used from time to time, mostly by teachers. It usually means a story about the adventures of a rogue.
Word To Use Today: picaroon. Rogues and villains are all around us, so this should be an easy word to use. It comes from the Spanish word picaron, from picaro, which means rogue.
The word's perhaps best said in a Scots accent: the man's a picaROON!
Enjoy!
Picaroon is a super word. And I'm quite fond of the picaresque novel! I think of it as a novel with lots of offshoot stories, which is indeed what would happen if a rogue were travelling about: he'd meet people and they'd tell him stories etc.
ReplyDeleteNow I come to think about it, you're exactly right about picareque novels. I've always thought of them as journeys.
ReplyDeleteI suppose a villain isn't going to be able to hang around anywhere or with anyone very long - and he'd be constantly involved in new fictions, too.