rat (redirected from ratting)

rat around

Sl. to waste time loafing around; to kick around. (Collegiate.) I didn't do anything but rat around all summer. If kids don't have jobs, they just rat around.

See also: around

rat on someone

Inf. to report someone's bad behavior to someone in authority; to tattle on someone. John ratted on me, and I got in trouble. If he rats on me, I'll hit him!

rat out

Sl. to quit; to fink out (on someone or something). It's too late to rat out. He tried to rat out at the last minute.

See also: out

rat race

Fig. a fierce struggle for success, especially in one's career or business. Bob got tired of the rat race. He's retired and gone to the country. The money market is a rat race, and many people who work in it get out quickly because of the stress.

See also: race

Rats abandon a sinking ship. and like rats abandoning a sinking ship

Prov. You can tell when something is about to fail because large numbers of people begin to leave it. (Can imply that the people who leave are "rats," that is, selfish and disloyal.) Jill: The company next door must be going bankrupt. Jane: How do you know? Jill: All its employees are resigning. Rats abandon a sinking ship.

See also: abandon, ship, sink

rug rat

Sl. a small child, especially an infant or toddler. (Also a term of address.) You got any rug rats at your house? Hey, you cute little rug rat, come over here.

See also: rug

smell a rat

to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong. I don't think this was an accident. I smell a rat. Bob had something to do with this. The minute I came in, I smelled a rat. Sure enough, I had been robbed.

See also: smell

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a pack rat  (American)

someone who collects things that they do not need For me there could be nothing worse than living with a pack rat.

See also: pack

a rat fink  (American informal)

an extremely unpleasant person, or someone who has given secret information about you to the police If I find the rat fink who informed on me, he won't live long enough to do it again.

See also: fink

a rat race

an unpleasant way in which people compete against each other at work in order to succeed I'd love to get out of the rat race and buy a house in some remote part of the countryside.

See smell a rat

See also: race

look like a drowned rat

to be very wet, especially because you have been in heavy rain I had to cycle home in the rain and came in looking like a drowned rat.

See also: drown, like, look

rat-arsed  (British very informal) also rat-assed (American very informal)

very drunk They came home completely rat-arsed.

smell a rat

to start to believe that something is wrong about a situation, especially that someone is being dishonest She smelled a rat when she phoned him at the office where he was supposed to be working late and he wasn't there.

See also: smell

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not give a rat's ass (rude)

to not care at all Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about her.

See also: ass, give

smell a rat

to believe something is wrong When my husband started working late three or four times a week, I smelled a rat.

See also: smell