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Rat

Young resident of certain neighborhoods, for example: "Rozzie rat" and "Dot rat" (the former being a denizen of Roslindale, the latter of Dorchester). The Back Bay and Beacon Hill do not have rats, at least not of the human variety.

Comments

Beacon Hill doesn't have rats, we have mice, and they like to live indoors.

I've also heard rats referred to as "BU Squirrels"

Lindsay on June 19, 2004 01:26 AM.

And don't forget The (dear departed) Rat (or, for the uncool, "Rathskeller") in Kenmore Square, one of the best rock clubs ever. God, how I miss it so.

http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/r/rat1.htm

editrix on September 21, 2004 04:45 PM.

In the mid-sixties, "rat" was a clothing style, a certain look. The kids who affected the style were known as "Rats". People "dressed rat" or "colleej" which is analagous to the well-known "greaser" and "preppie" styles of today. Typically, "Rats" wore pointy, black, Cuban-heeled shoes with white socks, dark Ban-lon shirts, and tight, dark pants. The girls teased their hair and used lots of hairspray. Guys that were "colleej" and being casual would wear penny loafers without socks, chambray "fireman" shirts with maybe a C.P.O. shirt over that, and jeans ("Dungies" in Brighton)with a cut-off cuff.They'd comb their hair straight down over the forehead and wash it a lot for that sort of urban surfer look. The girls wore wickid straight hair, sometimes pigtails, plaid skits, etc., etc. You get the picture.

I once went to the sweet sixteen party of my friend's cousin, a girl he hardly ever saw. When we arrived in our finest Colleej outfits...probably herringbone sport coats, Farrah slacks, and brown wing-tips, we were bummed to find out that the birthday girl and all her friends were Rats. In fact, we were baffled by the way they all danced. When one of the girls asked my friend to dance, he actually said, "I don't dance rat." The girl was probably glad and walked back to her rat girlfriends and laughed at us.

Brightonjohn on February 13, 2005 09:56 AM.

"Rat" useta mean same thing as "greaser", Sudbree back in the 60's.

Steve Reach on December 8, 2005 01:48 PM.

My family and I went to see Wicked in NYC last summer and Joey MacIntire (JP native) was in it. So afterwards we got his attention signing autographs and we called out "Joey! We're from Rozzie!" And he went "No way! Rozzie Rats?!" And he proceeded to pose for pictures with us.

Leah Cornish on March 9, 2006 07:45 PM.

Beacon Hill and Back Bay are full of rats of the two legged variety but they are the kind that get killed for ratting

Mark on March 17, 2006 02:22 AM.

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