wharf rat

Pier-dwelling vermin

A wharf rat is a brown rat found around docks and waterfronts, known for infesting ships and harbors.

By extension, it describes a person who loiters around wharves—a dockside vagrant, petty thief, or someone who makes a dishonest living in port areas: The bar was full of wharf rats and sailors.

maritime

longshoreman

Harbor freight worker

sailor · docker · cargo handler · old salt · seadog · able seaman · bosun · mariner · gangway · mooring

gritty

waterfront

Land beside navigable waters

seedy · rough · hardscrabble · noir · urban decay · dockside · grimy · rundown · dilapidated · bleak

vagrant

drifter

Aimless, rootless traveler

vagabond · down-and-out · castaway · outcast · squatter · homeless · indigent · rough sleeper · streetwise · survivor

informant

snitch

One who tells authorities

tattletale · canary · grass · narc · tipster · mole · turncoat · betrayer · double-crosser · leaker

rodent

scavenger

Seeker of refuse

plague · disease · contamination · filth · nest · burrow · nocturnal · feral · scurrying · pest

Opposites
habitat/environment

wharf ratlandlubber

Non-seafaring person

desert rat · inlander · city dweller · mountain man · field mouse

maritime social role

wharf ratlandlubber

Non-seafaring person

gentleman · aristocrat · captain · city slicker · merchant prince

hygiene/condition

wharf ratclean

Free of soil

well-groomed · refined · respectable · pristine · polished

Family

wharf, rat, wharfs, wharves, rats, ratty, ratted, ratting, ratter

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G