wharf rat

American  

noun

1. a large brown rat that is commonly found on wharves.

2. a person who lives or loiters near wharves, often existing by pilfering from ships or warehouses.

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wharf rat British  

noun

1. any rat, usually a brown rat, that infests wharves

2. informal  a person who haunts wharves, usually for dishonest purposes

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Etymology

Origin of wharf rat

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

There is the misnamed Norway rat — also called the brown, sewer or wharf rat — actually a native from northern China or Mongolia.

From Seattle Times

Soon, these “wharf rats,” among the region’s poorest and most exploited workers, became “lords of the docks,” commanding the highest wages and best conditions of any blue-collar worker in the region.

From Salon

Like many children in fishing villages, O'Brien was a "wharf rat", making pocket money cutting out and selling cod tongues by the dozen or the pound.

From BBC

Campbell’s daughter Charlotte, a wharf rat, was often aboard.

From Seattle Times

And each jammed with Irish Catholics who, it was said, bred like wharf rats.

From Literature