Mug Shot of Arrested Man

I ran into the word while reading a book of Anita Desai’s short stories. The word is badmash, meaning a rogue, ruffian, or miscreant. While using Google Images, I ran into an interesting phenomenon. In our society, words like “rogue,” “ruffian,” or “miscreant” are brand names for products aimed at people who like to be seen as badasses, even if they aren’t.

That explains a lot about the secret dream life of the American male. Find a word which has had a mostly negative charge, and it suddenly becomes something desirable.

The word badmash is variously claimed to have Hindi, Urdu (Pakistani), Persian, or Arabic roots. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word first came into the English language around 1840.

By the way, there is even an Indian restaurant in Los Angeles called Badmaash (a variant spelling). I guess it just goes to show you.