Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person regarded as contemptible, obnoxious, or otherwise undesirable.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An informer or spy.
  • noun A dislikable or contemptible person.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Look, I'm a ratfink not to at least offer you breakfast, but I've got to get on this right away.

    Minnesota Menage Jack Swenson 2010

  • As I said above, I just called and let them know that I feel insulted every time that ratfink speaks.

    Lieberman Camp To Obama: Back Off 2009

  • Van Johnson plays John Alden in a rather small role, and a young Lloyd Bridges is the ratfink first mate.

    Archive 2008-11-01 Jacqueline T Lynch 2008

  • He thinks Gadge deserved a metal for being the ratfink that he was.

    Everything Is Cinema and Criticism Is Nothing Ed Howard 2008

  • Van Johnson plays John Alden in a rather small role, and a young Lloyd Bridges is the ratfink first mate.

    Plymouth Adventure (1952) Jacqueline T Lynch 2008

  • He was recommended to me by my ratfink Mexican brother-in-law, whom I don´t get along with anymore, so that wouldn't help either.

    Patzcuaro house building 2005

  • You see what a vile little backstabbing ratfink Willard Mitt Romney really is...the French kindly help him to avoid an early death in the Mekong Delta and how does he repay them but with catcalls and brickbats.

    The Chimes at Midnight 2007

  • And here's the checkered flag from that hot-rod daddy ratfink from another world - your pal, hyper dave AKA the datajunkie. posted by hyperdave at 5:12 PM

    The Macabre Art Of Tom Sutton (or Repost Au Go Go Part 3) hyperdave 2006

  • And here's the checkered flag from that hot-rod daddy ratfink from another world - your pal, hyper dave AKA the datajunkie. posted by hyperdave at 5:12 PM

    Archive 2006-03-01 hyperdave 2006

  • And under cover of the ongoing WH “shakeup”, Rove will probably leave before being either charged, or outed to all the world as a ratfink.

    Firedoglake » Punk’d 2006

Comments

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  • Where on Earth does this word come from?

    October 21, 2007

  • It is a combination of two similar insults. A rat refers to some spying or informing for the police, and fink means the same thing. You could combine either of these with stool pigeon, I suppose, but that would sound stupid.

    October 21, 2007

  • Fink also once referred to a strike-breaker. From OED:

    1926 Amer. Mercury Jan. 63/1 Dating from the famous Homestead strike of 1892 is the odious fink. (It) according to one version was originally Pink, a contraction of Pinkerton, and referred to the army of strikebreakers recruited by the detective agency.

    October 22, 2007