ratty

Everyday

1. (UK, Australia, NZ, informal) Bad-tempered and easily annoyed; grumpy. tree →
2. (US, informal) Shabby, old and torn, like a ratty old jumper. tree →
3. Like a rat, or full of rats. tree →
4. (a name) Ratty is the friendly nickname of the Water Rat in The Wind in the Willows, Mole's best friend, who loves «messing about in boats». tree →

In the lessons

In everyday British talk, «Don't be so ratty» means «Don't be grumpy». In the US, «ratty» clothes are worn out. In the Wind in the Willows, Ratty is kind, sensible, fond of poetry and the river; he is really a water vole, not a rat. The book teaches about friendship and the river bank.

Examples

• Ratty took Mole for his first boat ride on the river. tree →
• I'm always ratty when I'm tired. tree →
• He wore a ratty old T-shirt to paint the fence. tree →
• «Believe me, my young friend,» said Ratty, «there is nothing half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.» tree →
• Don't get ratty with your little brother. tree →
• Ratty and Mole went to the Wild Wood to find Badger. tree →
• The dog chewed his toy until it was ratty. tree →

Note

Comparisons: rattier, rattiest. Note the two different senses in the UK (grumpy) and the US (shabby). Ratty in the book is a water vole; a common myth is that he is a rat.