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Rat vs Narwhal - What's the difference?

rat | narwhal |

As nouns the difference between rat and narwhal

is that rat is a medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus while narwhal is species: Monodon monoceros, an Arctic cetacean that grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) long, the male having a single horn-like tusk, a twisted, pointed canine tooth that projects forward.

As a verb rat

is to betray someone and tell their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in, bewray.

rat

English

(wikipedia rat)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (zoology) A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus .
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Charles T. Ambrose
    • , title= Alzheimer’s Disease , volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.}}
  • (informal) A term indiscriminately applied to numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) having bodies longer than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
  • (informal) A person who is known for betrayal; a scoundrel; a quisling.
  • * 1883 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Treasure Island)
    • He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house.
  • (informal) An informant or snitch.
  • (slang) A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.
  • Scab.
  • Vagina.
  • A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.
    • Synonyms
    * (person known for betrayal) traitor (see for more synonyms ) * (informer) stool pigeon
    Derived terms
    * black rat * brown rat * desert rat * give a rat's ass * * like rats from a sinking ship * love rat * mall rat * ratface * ratfink * ratter * rat race * rattail * ratty * rat's nest * rat-trap * ring rat * smell a rat * gym rat
    See also
    * mouse * rodent

    Verb

    (ratt)
  • To betray someone and tell their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in, bewray.
    • He ratted on his coworker.
    He is going to rat us out!
  • To kill rats.
    • Synonyms
    * (to betray someone to an authority) tell on, to finger or "put the finger on", bewray

    Anagrams

    * ----

    narwhal

    English

    (wikipedia narwhal) (Monodon monoceros)

    Alternative forms

    * narwal, narwhale

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • , an Arctic cetacean that grows to about 20 feet (6 meters) long, the male having a single horn-like tusk, a twisted, pointed canine tooth that projects forward.
  • * 1986 , D. E. Sergeant, Chapter 16: Sea Mammals'', I. P. Martini (editor), ''Canadian Inland Seas , page 337,
    • Moreover, both narwhals and bowheads can occur in late summer in southern Prince Regent Inlet (coming from Lancaster Sound) and may reach Fury and Hecla Strait and northern Foxe Basin.
  • * 1988 , Tristan Jones, Somewheres East of Suez , unnumbered page,
    • Often, in the morning, narwhals' played around the boat and reminded me of the dolphins, so far away in the North Atlantic. But these '''narwhals''' were not like the Atlantic sea-dogs; they had little of their flashing vibrancy; these Turkish ' narwhals were much more relaxed, and rolled over lazily, with a sigh, as if they were going to retire to a sofa and smoke a hookah.
  • * 2000 , Richard C. Connor, Andrew J. Read, Richard Wrangham, 10: Male Reproductive Strategies and Social Bonds'', Janet Mann (editor), ''Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales , page 247,
    • At over 2.5 m in length, the tusk of the male narwhal (Monodon monoceros ) is one the most impressive instruments of male-male competition among mammals.

    Synonyms

    * sea unicorn

    Derived terms

    * narwhalian, narwalian