winter rat
English
editEtymology
editBelieved to have originated in or around Syracuse, New York.
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
editwinter rat (plural winter rats)
- (idiomatic, colloquial, US) An old, unattractive automobile, purchased for little money, to be driven during brutal Great Lakes winters while the owner's "good" car remains garaged and protected from corrosive road salt for the season.
Synonyms
editReferences
edit- Winter Rat, in New Dictionary of American Slang, by Robert L. Chapman, Harold Wentworth, 1996, Harper & Row.