From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
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}]
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