cheese eater
Americannoun
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an informer; rat.
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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.
Even Coleman acknowledged that toddlers and young children — who have been known to be messy eaters — might consume milk differently than adults.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2024
The bats, messy eaters, dropped their half-consumed meals.
From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2021
Pick pieces with easily cleaned performance fabrics, or go with plastic, steel or wood if you’ve got messy eaters.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 19, 2019
However, children are messy eaters who get food—in this case peanut butter—on their hands and faces, then run around on the playground transferring peanut butter onto the slides, swings, etc.
From Slate • Jul. 1, 2014
They are messy eaters, no small matter in this scenario.
From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2012
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.
