river rat

Noun

river rat (plural river rats)

1. (literally) A rat that lives on or along a river.
   • To her horror, she discovered that the rope she was holding was not a rope at all, but a tail. And attached to the tail was a large river rat that scrambled frantically in midair, thrashing to get away.2000, Elvira Woodruff, The Christmas Doll http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0590318799&id=lHd3LzrLmDcC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&sig=Db_PVv86h_T9YfO5JyIsw6XRaTM
2. (derogatory) A lower-class person living on or along a river.
   • The river rat he fought was one of a gang of them lolling under the eaves of the porthouse, probably waiting for a gaming house to open.1989, Orson Scott Card, Prentice Alvin http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0812502124&id=u8x5Q2IHw_8C&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&sig=frn2Tg8bgUQjDpkNJJxvJOcUm9c
   • Cap’n Andy claims that his show boat is “one big happy family”—and that includes his wife, daughter Magnolia, as well as stars Julie and husband Steve, and black help Queenie and Joe. But it won’t be for long; because a river rat’s love for Julie goes unrequited, and he informs the sheriff that...1993, Peter Filichia, Let’s Put on a Musical! http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0823088170&id=-d20I7gBCs8C&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&sig=UvFcIJYiS-CwLdeKLlKGo7fT2Ck
3. (derogatory) A poker player that wins a Texas Hold'em hand by making the winning hand on the river card.