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cheese eater

American  

noun

Slang.

  1. an informer; rat.

  2. a person who betrays, denies, or abandons their associates, social group, beliefs, etc.

Etymology

Origin of cheese eater

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; the sense “informer”; in association of cheese with rat

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“But Buchalter was no cheese eater and wouldn’t squeal. On March 5, 1944, he went like a mensch to ‘Old Sparkie’ in Sing Sing.”

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2014

Cheese The Cypriot is a great cheese eater.

From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by Bevan, William

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.