US /ˈskɔfˌlɔ/
noun Freq #145644

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    One who habitually violates minor laws or fails to answer trivial court summonses (such as parking tickets).

    The scofflaw entered the scoflsloon. He leaned an elbow on the scoffbar and rested a foot on the scoffrail. 'Waddle'y' have?" said the scoffbartender. "A little tea," said the scofflaw.

Etymology

From scoff + law. Coined simultaneously by Mr Henry Irving Dale and Miss Kate L. Butler for a contest held in Boston in 1923 in which a word for "a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor" was sought during the Prohibition era.

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