raffish
    adj 1: marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners; "a dapper
           young man"; "a jaunty red hat" [syn: dapper, dashing,
           jaunty, natty, raffish, rakish, spiffy,
           snappy, spruce]
    2: marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness;
       "a cocktail party given by some...raffish bachelors"- Crary
       Moore [syn: devil-may-care, raffish, rakish]

Raffish \Raff"ish\ (r[.a]f"[i^]sh), a.
   Resembling, or having the character of, raff, or a raff;
   worthless; low.
   [1913 Webster]

         A sad, raffish, disreputable character.  --Thackeray.
   [1913 Webster]

   2. Mildly disreputable or nonconformist; unconventional.
      [PJC]

            Tales of his [Ted Kennedy's] drinking and raffish
            behavior have become part of his public persona,
            often lumped under a vaster damnation known as "the
            character issue".
            . . .
            He appears to compartmentalize his off-duty conduct
            and his Senate responsibilities; during dozens of
            interviews for this article, with friends and foes,
            not one could cite an instance in which drinking
            appeared to impair him professionally. His
            adversaries grumble about it anyway; friends portray
            it as relatively harmless and charming.
            Orrin Hatch, the conservative Utah Republican who is
            also a Mormon, tells this story with what he
            describes as "a tremendous brotherly affection." Two
            days before the Senate adjourned in October 1988,
            Hatch took a call from Frank Madsen, a former aide
            who had moved to Boston to supervise 200 young
            Mormon missionaries. Would Hatch come speak to them?
            Would he bring Kennedy? Would he ask Kennedy to
            reserve Faneuil Hall for the event?
            With some misgivings, Hatch agreed to try. Shortly
            before midnight, he found Kennedy and Chris Dodd in
            the Capitol. Neither was feeling any pain.
            "Ted, I've got a favor to ask."
            Kennedy wrapped an arm around Hatch. "Done!"
            Hatch held up a restraining hand. "No, hear me out.
            You remember my aide, Frank Madsen -- "
            "Great fellow! Great fellow!"
            "He's now in Boston -- "
            "My home town! My home town!"
            Hatch eventually made his request. Kennedy assented.
            Hatch returned to his office, typed out the
            agreement and sent it to Kennedy's office. The next
            day, Hatch spied Kennedy reading the memo. "Orrin,"
            Kennedy called in mock horror, "what else did I
            agree to?" Three months later, in January 1989,
            Hatch and Kennedy stood elbow-to-elbow in Faneuil
            Hall, addressing the Mormon missionaries. --Rick
                                                  Atkinson,
                                                  Washington
                                                  Post, Sept.
                                                  29, 1990
      [PJC]

   3. Dissolute; rakish.
      [PJC]

            Of all such places, Santa Fe may well be the least
            raffish. At least in the off-season, it's a town
            that goes to bed early, showing all the prudent
            reserve of a city of bankers and claims adjusters.
            In the historic center, a visitor searches in vain
            for tawdry traces of the hard-drinking,
            wild-womanizing, heavy-gambling cowboy town this
            once must have been.                  --Brad
                                                  Leithauser
                                                  ("Santa Fe",
                                                  in New York
                                                  Times Magazine
                                                  / May 13,
                                                  2001).
      [PJC]

            Over the years, it [Macau] has maintained a
            downright raffish atmosphere, complete with warring
            gangsters.                            --Yvette
                                                  Ziols.
      [PJC]

   4. Vulgarly gaudy; cheap and tawdry; as, a tendency toward
      gaudy jewelry, bright colors and generally raffish dress.
      [PJC]

            A lonely orphan, Lilli, lands a job with a raffish
            and run-down carnival. The wide-eyed and innocent
            orphan is mesmerized by its gritty, tawdry glamour.
                                                  --Anonymous
                                                  review of the
                                                  play Carnival
                                                  (http://www.kt-online.org/plays/02-carnival-frame.html)
      [PJC]

   4. Appealing to or frequented by dissolute or disreputable
      people; as, a raffish night club.
      [PJC]