picaresque

picaresque - adj., of or relating to rogues; esp., of, relating to, or being a story of the episodic adventures of a usually roguish protagonist surviving by his or her wits in a (usually) corrupt society.


From Spanish picaresco, from pícaro, rogue, possibly from picar, to pierce. Would anyone like a slice of Smollett? It's very tasty today.

---L.