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Glite Dictionary
winged rat

winged rat

9.2
An insulting name for a flying animal like a pigeon that people see as dirty or annoying
  • noun
  • Offensive
translation icon : rata voladora
  • Many people refer to pigeons as winged rats because of their scavenging habits.

Examples

  • He called the bats in the attic winged rats and wanted them gone immediately.

  • The park was overrun with winged rats searching for leftover food.

  • That winged rat just landed on my balcony.

  • Many people consider winged rats to be pests.

  • Many people refer to pigeons as winged rats due to their frequent scavenging in urban areas.

  • In the city, winged rats often gather around parks, hoping to find crumbs from picnics.

  • Teachers sometimes describe bats as winged rats to highlight their unappealing appearance.

Synonyms

rat with wings
vswinged rat
  • Offensive
1 9.8

An annoying person or thing that keeps coming back

focuses on birds or flying animals resembling rodents rather than people
sky rat
vswinged rat
  • Slang
9.9

A city bird like a pigeon that people see as a pest

is a general derogatory label for birds or bats that resemble rodents

Surface Forms

winged rat singular
winged rats plural

Morphology

winged + rat

The term is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'winged' (having wings) + 'rat' (rodent), so a learner can infer a creature like a rat that has wings or a derogatory label for a bird that looks rat-like. This compositional and figurative insult follows regular English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably deduce the intended meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Winged rat is a modern insult that comes from imagining a rat with wings. People used that strong picture for city birds like pigeons or bats that search for leftover food and look dirty, so the phrase became a rude way to show dislike of those animals.