The oldest meaning of the informal snitch is "to betray" or, as a noun, "informer." This probably stems from 18th-century underworld slang, in which snitch meant "nose" — perhaps because a snitch is really nosy.
snitch (n.) "informer, tell-tale," 1785, of obscure origin, probably from underworld slang meaning "the nose" (1700), which apparently developed from an earlier meaning "fillip on the nose" (1670s), itself probably from one of the Germanic sn- "nose" words (see snout). Snitcher in same sense is from 1827.
In the British criminal world, police informants have been called "grasses" since the late 1930s, and the "super" prefix was coined by journalists in the early 1970s to describe those who witnessed against fellow criminals in a series of high-profile mass trials at the time.
It's unclear exactly why people started to use rat in this way, but there are some possible explanations. Rat, as an epithet, has long referred to many different kinds of dishonorable people. Before calling someone a “rat” meant calling them an informant, it signified a drunkard, a cheating husband, or a pirate.
It is said to have originated from gang culture. If you were an informant, you would receive a cut on your face, showing other gang members or inmates that you had snitched to the police.
One technical term for "snitching" in the legal world is accomplice testimony, and while it is real, it works a little differently than TV legal dramas would have you think, as a blog called Prosecutor's Discretion points out. It's not as dangerous as it appears on screen, but neither is it a get-out-of-jail-free card.
In addition, male rats are bucks, while females are called does.
There are common terms, equally used in the schoolyard as on the street, such as “rat,” “fink,” “snitch,” “narc.” There are old-timey terms such as “stoolie,” “stool pigeon,” “canary,” “singing,” “chirping,” “squealing,” “grass” and derivatives.
In the early 1970s, the term 'Black Rats' existed as a derogatory name for the unforgiving officers of London's Metropolitan Police Traffic Division (Traffpols); they were known to be strict and would not hesitate to report their own mother for speeding, or another officer (particularly one from the CID) for some ...
dobber or dibber dobber – informant; from dob meaning to inform on. The saying "(Dibber) dobbers wear nappies." is commonly used by children.
British Slang. a stool pigeon or informer. Australian Slang.
In London, the policemen were so identified with the politician who created them that they were referred to as “Peelers” or—more memorably—“Bobbies,” after the popular nickname for Robert.
To grass in British slang is indeed to inform on a person to the authorities; a grass is an informer. The noun starts to appear in print in the 1920s and the verb a few years later.
'Clipe' (C-lipe) – Someone who tells tales or a snitch. Being a clipe or a grass is the same thing. 'Collie-buckie' (Collie-Buckie) – A piggy bag.
Dob (somebody) in, dobber.
To dob someone in is to tattle on someone or inform on their behavior and actions. In Australian vernacular, a dobber is a tattletale.
4. Dry snitching: In prison, dry snitching means to snitch indirectly by talking in an excessively loud voice or drawing attention from the guards, or offering some information but no names.
dry snitching is snitching without being pressured (police, violence). Wet snitching is under pressure. 1. Richard Angelino.
Electronic rat traps are considered the most modern and effective traps for rodents. These traps lure rodents with food and baits them onto a metal plate inside that immediately electrocutes them. It is the most humane approach in comparison to snap traps and poisonous traps – the rat's death is nearly instant.
Desmarest's hutias are referred to by those stationed at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as banana rats. Banana rats are not named for their dietary preference, but because their feces look like small versions of the fruit. They are known to come out at night.
Only one female in a colony of naked mole-rats produces offspring; this female is called the queen. She mates with only a few of the colony's males, and these relationships can remain stable for many years.
Origin of the day: a 'grass' or informant began with the rhyming slang 'grasshopper/shopper', because they shop a former accomplice. Thank you, Paul. Interesting. Some Polygraph lie detectors were made by a company called 'Grass'.
om·ni·scient äm-ˈni-shənt. Synonyms of omniscient. : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight. an omniscient author. the narrator seems an omniscient person who tells us about the characters and their relations Ira Konigsberg.