If you’re visiting for the first time, this is part 3 of a
series. See links to prior posts in this series at the bottom of this post.
Rats are frequently blamed for damaging food supplies and
other goods, or spreading disease. Their reputation has carried into common
parlance: in the English language, "rat" is often an insult or is
generally used to signify an unscrupulous character; it is also used to mean an
individual who works as a police informant. It is a term (noun and verb) in
criminal slang for an informant - "to rat on someone" is to betray
them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed.
Describing a person as "rat-like" usually implies he or she is
unattractive and suspicious.
They're typically associated with filth, bad smell, and
have be blamed for transmitting diseases. This gave rise to a number of
expressions, including “to smell a rat” and the associated meaning of rat (“a
person regarded as despicable”).
Similar to the wonderful variety of appearances of chicken
figures of speech in the English language, here is a collection
of rat figures of speech from weblearneng.com
1. rat (noun) =
(a) a worthless, disloyal, dangerous man
(b) in labour unions a term
used for non-union employers or breakers of union contracts
2. “Rats!” (interjection) = an expression used for some
interjections which are considered vulgar, and also to mean ‘Nonsense!’
3. to rat (verb) = to break a promise; to be disloyal
4. to rat on someone = to betray; to cheat someone
5. to smell a rat = to guess that something wrong is
happening or to suspect some hidden danger or disadvantage.
The rat series
Rats #9: Good riddance at The
Eggplant
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