trade rat

American  

noun

1. pack rat.

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Etymology

Origin of trade rat

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Well, he'll be savin' as a trade rat until we get our home paid for.

From The Round-Up A romance of Arizona novelized from Edmund Day's melodrama by Day, Edmund

Of course," said Father, "it was a trade rat.

From Little Tales of The Desert by Villa, Hernando G.

That's why this particularly vexing rodent is called a "trade rat."

From I Married a Ranger by Smith, Dama Margaret

He is a big, active fellow of a glossy gray color, and since he always leaves something in place of whatever he may carry off, he is often called the trade rat.

From Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania by Gilson, Jewett Castello