The sergeant asked if there was a sheet on
the prisoner.rare birdn. an unusual person; a person
with rare talents or abilities. An inter-
esting kind of rare bird is the man who can
take long vacations and still make money.
She is a rare bird who enjoys opera and
can understand most of it, too.
rare old timen. a fine and enjoyable time
at a party or something similar. (Folksy.)
That was a rare old time at Tom’s the
other night. I haven’t had a rare old
time like that in years.
raring to gomod. anxious and eager to go.
Come on, I’m raring to go! The whole
family is raring to go on vacation.
raspberry[“rAzbEri] n. the Bronx cheer.
The entire audience gave the performer the
raspberry. The performer gave them a
raspberry right back.
rasty[“rAsti] mod. having to do with a
harsh-looking young woman. (Colle-
giate.) Who is that rasty dame I saw you
with? That dark lipstick makes you look
a little rasty.
rat 1. n. a wretched acting person. (Also a
term of address.) You dirty rat, you!
Stop acting like a dirty rat! 2. Go to rat
(on someone).
rat around in. 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.
rat-bastardn. a really wretched or despised
person. (Rude and derogatory.) Yo u
dirty rat-bastard! I could kill you! Stay
away from Albert, he’s a real rat-bastard
when he’s drunk.
ratchet-mouth and motor-mouth n.
someone who talks incessantly. (Also a
term of address.) Tell that ratchet-
mouth to shut up! Hey, motor-mouth,
quiet!
rat finkn. an informer. (Also a term of ad-
dress. See also rat.) That guy is noth-
ing but a rat fink. A dirty squealer! Fred
told the teacher about the plot, and every-
body called him a rat fink for the next two
years.
rathole 1. n. a run-down place; a dump or
a joint. I refuse to live in this rathole any
longer. Why don’t you clean up this
rathole? 2. n. a bottomless pit. (Typically
with throw and downas in the examples.)
Why do they keep throwing money
down that rathole? That rathole will ab-
sorb as much money as they can supply.
The transportation system is beyond
help. Giving it more subsidies is just throw-
ing money down a rathole.
rat (on someone)in. to inform (on some-
one). Bill said he was going to rat on
that punk. If you rat on me, I’ll get you!
Who ratted?
rat outin. to quit; to fink out (on some-
one or something). It’s too late to rat
out. He tried to rat out at the last
minute.
rat racen. a dull and repetitive situation;
a dull and unrewarding job. (See also
daily grind.) I am really tired of this rat
race—day after day. She dropped out
of the rat race and moved to Vermont,
where she opened a barber shop.
Rats!exclam. Oh, damn! Rats! I broke a
nail! Oh, rats! I’m late.
theratsn. the delirium tremens. The way
he was shaking, I knew he had the rats.
Most of those old guys down on Fourth
Street have the rats.
rattlebonesn. <a nickname for a very
skinny person.> (Also a term of address.)
Hey, rattlebones, come over here a
minute. Ask rattlebones over there to
have a seat.
rattlebrainn. a stupid person. Is that rat-
tlebrain here again? Please try not to be
such a rattlebrain! Pay attention to what
you are doing.
rattled 1. mod. confused; bewildered. He
tends to get a little rattled at minor things.
Try not to get her rattled. 2. mod. tipsy;
alcohol intoxicated. After an hour of
drinking, Bill was more than a little rat-
tled. Being rattled from beer, I stopped
drinking beer and began on the rum.rare bird