winter rat
English edit
Etymology edit
Believed to have originated in or around Syracuse, New York.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
winter 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 edit
References edit
- Winter Rat, in New Dictionary of American Slang, by Robert L. Chapman, Harold Wentworth, 1996, Harper & Row.