Rat–Figures of Speech

(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. rat-like  =  (of a person) unattractive and suspicious

6. ratty  =  (of someone) in a bad or irritable temper; annoyed

7. lab rat  =  scientists or research assistants who spend a lot of time working in a laboratory, usually experimenting on animals

8. rat’s tail  =  a tool – a kind of file in the shape of a rat’s tail

9. rat-race  =  the endless competition for success and wealth among businessmen

10. rat’s nest  =  a state of confusion, excitement or trouble

11. rat bag  =  an unusually foolish person; a nasty, troublesome person

12. to rat hole (verb)  =  (of a person) to store up food material

13. rat-tat (or rat-a-tat)  [used as a ‘sound of knocking on a door’]

14. (a)  as wet as a drowned rat

(b)  to look like a drowned rat = (of someone) completely wet by rain or immersion

15. as miserable as a rat in a tar-barrel  (in a very depressed state)

16. (a)  as cold/poor/sick/weak as a rat

(b)  as drunk/fierce/rank as a rat

17. as fit as a buck rat

18. as flash as a rat with a gold tooth  (‘flash’ = happy, showy)

19. as rough as rats [said of ruthless, aggressive and selfish people]

20. to look like a rat’s nest [said of a dirty, nasty disorder – of a place or situation]

21. to smell a rat  =  to guess that something wrong is happening or to suspect some hidden danger or disadvantage

22. (a)  to get a rat (or ‘rats’)

(b)  to have a rat (or ‘rats’)  = (of a person) to go mad; to become peculiar or unusually strange/odd

23. rats leave a sinking ship [said of people who leave someone or someplace as soon as they guess or suspect that their positions are at risk or they are not going to get any benefit]

24. so mean he wouldn’t give a rat a railway pie    (‘mean’ = very bad or very miserly) [said of a miser, a person who does not want to spend money or does not want to give away any of his money to other]

25. one doesn’t get rats out of mice [said of qualities or character that children get or do not get from their parents, i.e. if the parents are bad, the children are also bad]

26. to look like a streak of rat’s piss  =  (of something, usually a drink) thin and nasty