Mischievousness
Ategoddess of evil and mischief. [Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 33; Kravitz, 39]
mischievous ten-year-old beset by trivial troubles. [TV: “Leave It to Beaver” in Terrace, II, 18–19]
devilish page. [Br. Lit.: Waverley]
clever trickster. [Children’s Lit.: Uncle Remus]
turn-of-the-century enfant terrible. [Comics: Horn, 145]
apelike pygmies; tried to steal Hercules’ weapons. [Gk. Myth.: Leach, 206]
symbolizes naughtiness and chicanery. [Jewish Tradition: Jobes, 382]
latter-day Buster Brown, complete with dog. [Comics: Horn, 201]
elf king who works mischief on children. [Ger. Folk-lore: LLEI, I: 283]
legendary peasant known for his pranks. [Ger. Folklore: Benét, 325–326]
mischievous, sharp-witted boy has many adventures. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn]
kissed the girls and made them cry. [Nurs. Rhyme: Opie, 185]
(Allhallows Eve) youngsters play pranks on the neighbors. [Am. Folklore: Misc.]
(Red Skelton) “the mean widdle kid.” [Radio: “The Red Skelton Show” in Buxton, 197]
twin Teutonic terrors. [Comics: “The Captain and the Kids” in Horn, 156–157]
archetypal juvenile delinquent leads Pinocchio astray. [Am. Cinema: Pinocchio in Disney Films, 32–37]
scamps unite to terrorize adults. [Am. TV: Terrace, II, 31]
misguided do-gooder. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 704]
“handful of wit”; Armado’s “pretty knavish page.” [Br. Lit.: Love’s Labour’s Lost]
Shrove Tuesday eve when boys play tricks. [Br. Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 756]
group of children in comedy series: always into mischief. [Am. Cinema: Halliwell, 546; Am. TV: “The Little Rascals” in Terrace, II, 31]
mischievous boy plays pranks on his father. [Am. Lit.: Peck’s Bad Boy, Hart, 642]
always ransacking farmer MacGregor’s patch. [Children’s Lit.: The Tale of Peter Rabbit]
prank-playing fairies; mislead travelers. [Br. Folklore: Briggs, 328–330]
wild shaggy colt that misled benighted travelers. [Br. Folklore: Briggs]
knavish hobgoblin who plays pranks. [Br. Folklore & Lit.: A Midsummer Night’s Dream]
scatterbrained gossoon; makes trouble without trying. [Irish Lit.: Handy Andy]
hookey-playing, imaginative lad of St. Petersburg, Missouri. [Am. Lit.: Tom Sawyer]
with his two friends, devises ingenious pranks that make life miserable for the masters of the school. [Br. Lit.: Kipling Stalky and Company]
school-skipping delinquent of penny dreadful. [Br. Lit.: Charlie Wag, the Boy Burglar, Opie, 117]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.