cheese eater

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cheese eater

Where it comes from

From the idea that rats eat cheese.

noun cheese eaters · cheese-eater

A rat; an informer who betrays colleagues. As a "stool pigeon," or what the corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) calls a "cheese eater," Terry now feels totally dejected and alone, even though the murder by the mob of his brother, Charley "the Gent" (Rod Steiger) helped motivate him to testify.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cheese, eater. One who eats cheese.

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MLA

"cheese eater." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cheese%20eater. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cheese eater. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cheese%20eater

Chicago

"cheese eater." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cheese%20eater.

BibTeX

@misc{cheese_eater_2026,
  title = {cheese eater},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cheese%20eater},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}