naughty

   Used as a vocative element in Shakespeare, this word has the force of ‘a thing of naught’, something totally worthless. ‘Thou naughty varlet’, in Much Ado About Nothing (4:ii) or ‘thou naughty knave’, in Julius Caesar (l:i) is thus a serious insult. In modern times ‘naughty’ used alone or in an expression like ‘naughty boy’, ‘naughty girl’, is far milder. Addressed to children such terms imply bad behaviour, or behaviour, at least, which goes against the instructions issued by elders. Used to adults, expressions like ‘naughty boy’ or ‘naughty girl’ are likely to become covert endearments, especially when referring to sexual behaviour that some might consider to be improper. Friendly use of ‘naughty’ to an adult occurs in Free Fall, by William Golding.