rat v.1
a euph. for damn v.; often in excl. below.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Humours of Oxford V i: clar.: O fye upon you [...] how bravely the World would babble on such an Occasion. sham.: Ratt the World. | |
| Letter Writers III i: Rat your Designs. | |
| Trip to Scarborough I ii: Rat the hooks and buttons, Sir, can anything be worse than this? | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Spanish Rivals I iii: Rat the man’s assurance! If I know what to make of him I’m a nun. | |
| ‘Punch’s Apotheosis’ in Smith Rejected Addresses 126: Old Polony like a sausage, [...] exclaim’d ‘Rat! Rat!’. | |
| Navy at Home II 206: Who you call nigger, rat you, answer me dat? | |
| Adventures of Philip (1899) 555: ‘Rat that piano!’ She ‘ratted’ the instrument, because the music would wake her little dears upstairs. |
In exclamations
a general excl.
| Way of the World III iii: Rat me, knight, I’m so sick of a last night’s debauch. | |
| Recruiting Officer IV iii: Rat me, I knew a famous doctor in London of your name! | |
| Prompter 6 Feb. 2/1: Rat me, Sir, if you and your Basket-Maker are not a Couple of Impertinent Fools. | |
| Tom Jones (1959) 280: Rat me if it was not a meritorious action to strip such a sneaking, pitiful rascal. | |
![[Scot]](/static/img/flags/sco.png "Scotland") | Scots Mag. 1 Oct. 19/2: I had before made some progress in learning to swear: I had proceeded by Fegs, [...] ’pon my life, Rat it, and Zookers [...] to Demme. | |
| Way to Get Married in Inchbold (1808) XXV 13: Ha! ha! rat me! bet at last I’ve said a good one. | |
| Heart of Mid-Lothian (1883) 309: Rat me, one might have milled the Bank of England, and less noise about it. | |
| Woodstock IV iii: Now rat me, but that is too spiteful—eh! | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Nick of the Woods I 59: For, rat it, I won’t own friendship for any such apostatized villains, no how. | |
| Clockmaker II 250: Rat me if it don’t make me sick. | |
| Criminal Life 186: Rat it, but it does sting though! |