Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang A despicable person.
  • noun Australia A stupid person, a meathead
  • noun New Zealand A mischievous person, especially a child. May be used endearingly.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

rat +‎ bag

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Examples

  • But the real Joffa is a far cry from that "ratbag" Collingwood supporter in the flashy gold jacket giving it to the umpires from behind the goals - the one with the gift of the gab who is starring in a self-titled movie and who has been immortalised in a bobblehead.

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • Greenpeace is now a ratbag rabble of intellectual cowards intent on peddling an agenda, whatever the scientific evidence.

    Greenpeace at 40: A global brand in good health or an out-of-touch bureaucracy? 2011

  • To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: I don't know if there is anything particularly stupifying in the air in this particular part of Samoa, but it seems to me that the number of raving ratbag idiots there considerably exceeds the usual number that statistics have laid down for our guidance.

    Tallulah Morehead: Survivor: Heroes vs Villains : Banana Wars. 2010

  • To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: I don't know if there is anything particularly stupifying in the air in this particular part of Samoa, but it seems to me that the number of raving ratbag idiots there considerably exceeds the usual number that statistics have laid down for our guidance.

    Survivor: Heroes vs Villains : Banana Wars. 2010

  • I suspect the little ratbag had been in trouble with the police before, probably for breach of the peace, as the two officers apparently repeated several times that the teenager had been quite clear about being “alarmed and disturbed” by the way the teacher behaved.

    Hello, is that the police? hello?…. hello?…… « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008

  • The ratbag made a last-ditch attempt to salvage the situation telling the Herald Sun: "I don't want to lose my livelihood over a stupid prank."

    Lechia Gdansk harness spirit of Solidarity to fuel Poland's boom Kazimierz Mochlinski 2010

  • To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: I don't know if there is anything particularly stupifying in the air in this particular part of Samoa, but it seems to me that the number of raving ratbag idiots there considerably exceeds the usual number that statistics have laid down for our guidance.

    Tallulah Morehead: Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Banana Wars. 2010

  • By the way for Melbourne burgers there is some ratbag dude from Brisbane coming down to chat with author Lee Child at the Wheeler Centre in a couple of weeks - Is uppose we could try for some sort of get togetehr at the same time?

    Cheeseburger Gothic » Tuesday writing blog: show me the money. 2010

  • The only people who have legal trouble during their student years are ratbag demonstrators, apparently.

    Cheeseburger Gothic » Very tired now. 2009

  • 'Mzzzzzzzzzzzz' says 'self-righteous, humourless, strident old ratbag with hairy armpits and crap shoes.

    Archive 2009-03-01 juliette 2009

Comments

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  • An Australian term of abuse - not as bad as it sounds. Can be used jovially.

    December 12, 2006

  • A troublemaker. According to Richard Tognetti, artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, ratbaggery is absolutely essential to the health of the performing arts. I'm inclined to agree. There should be more ratbaggery and more larrikins.

    August 25, 2008

  • "Red was just a tomboy, she didn't think about smiling or not smiling. There was a gap, now that Fish wasn't being the ratbag of the family, and Red was out to fill it. She beat boys at cricket and she terrorized the bike sheds at school with the way she could throw a punch."

    Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, p 63 of the Graywolf Press hardcover edition

    March 30, 2010