tree rat
- noun
- /tri ræt/
- Slang
:
ardilla
- A couple of years ago, the squirrels, raccoons, and tree rats seemed to have discovered that they like them too.
Examples
-
I had to set up traps because the tree rats kept stealing food from my garden.
-
Every morning, I see tree rats raiding the bird feeder in my backyard.
-
When autumn arrives, the tree rats become especially active, searching for nuts and seeds.
Synonyms
232
1.0
A small animal with a long bushy tail that lives in trees and eats nuts and seeds
2
3.5
A small animal that lives in holes in the ground and often has stripes
A small animal with a bushy tail that lives mainly in trees
A small animal with a bushy tail that lives in northern forests and eats spruce cones
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally clear: 'tree' + 'rat' evokes a rat-like rodent associated with trees, so a learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it refers to a tree-dwelling rodent or nuisance. However, the specific referent 'squirrel' and the derogatory/slang nuance are not fully predictable from the parts alone and depend on cultural usage, so full understanding requires exposure.
Etymology
The slang tree rat comes from the picture of an animal that lives in a tree but acts like a rat, quick, noisy, and stealing food. That's why people use tree rat to mean 'a squirrel' seen as a 'pest'.