A tearaway is a young person, usually a boy, who behaves wildly and keeps getting into trouble — skipping school, fighting, breaking things, riding off on somebody's motorbike. It is British, and it belongs to older, more informal speech; you would hear it from a parent, a neighbour, or a newspaper, and younger British people use it less than their grandparents did. What makes it worth learning is its tone. A tearaway is not a criminal and not really a bad person — the word is half a complaint and half affection, the sort of thing said with a sigh and a small smile. 'He was a bit of a tearaway at that age' usually means the speaker has forgiven it, or even rather enjoys the memory. Say 'delinquent' or 'criminal' and you are condemning someone; say 'tearaway' and you are shaking your head at them. That gap is the whole word. The picture inside it is someone tearing away — rushing off at speed, out of your control, before you can stop them.

（英）野孩子、闖禍精、不受管教的年輕人