winter rat
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A person who deserts or betrays their group during a difficult time.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Người bỏ rơi hoặc phản bội nhóm trong thời gian khó khăn
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: rat that leaves in winter
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The company's former CEO is a winter rat for abandoning the business during the financial crisis.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “winter rat” mean?
A person who deserts or betrays their group during a difficult time. Literally: rat that leaves in winter
Is “winter rat” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.