ratcatcher
Pest control worker
A ratcatcher is someone who catches rats professionally, historically an occupation in urban areas plagued by rodent infestations.
The term extends to anyone who deals with pests or, figuratively, to someone who roots out unwanted elements: He fancied himself a ratcatcher, exposing corruption in city hall.
In British equestrian contexts, ratcatcher refers to informal riding attire—tweed jacket and colored shirt rather than formal hunt dress.
One who eradicates vermin
- verminHarmful small animals
- rodentGnawing mammal order
- trapDevice for catching animals
- baitLure for prey
poison · infestation · fumigation · rodenticide · snares · cage · eradication · sanitation
Grimly poor, socially unjust
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- cobblestoneRiver-smoothed paving stone
- workhouseInstitution housing poor laborers
- chimneysweepOne who cleans flues
urchin · poverty · squalor · foggy · London · pestilence · plague · alleyways
Textured woolen cloth
- waistcoatSleeveless torso garment
- breechesTrousers ending below knee
- equestrianRelating to horsemanship
- jodhpursHip-flared equestrian trousers
exterminator
One who eradicates vermin
bait · poison · infestation · fumigation · rodenticide · snares · cage · eradication · sanitation · disease
Dickensian
Grimly poor, socially unjust
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- cobblestoneRiver-smoothed paving stone
- workhouseInstitution housing poor laborers
chimneysweep · urchin · poverty · squalor · foggy · London · pestilence · plague · alleyways · basements
tweed
Textured woolen cloth
- waistcoatSleeveless torso garment
- breechesTrousers ending below knee
- equestrianRelating to horsemanship
hound
Hunting dog breed
- huntsmanOne who pursues game
- whipper-inControls hounds during hunt
- earthSoil or electrical grounding
bolt · quarry · spoor · scent · trail · hunt · kennel · foxhole · covert · drew
- Old Jobsblacksmith, farrier, wheelwright, chandler, apothecary
- Old British Jobsblacksmith, cobbler, miller, thatcher, cooper
- foxhuntingfoxhound, foxhounds, tally ho, tally-ho, huntsman
- riding gearriding boots, riding helmet, riding gloves, riding jacket, riding pants
- old tradesblacksmith, blacksmithing, cooper, carpentry, cobbler
- medieval workersserf, peasant, villein, bondsman, thrall