mole; dressage

[Victor Steinbok]

How quickly they forget! (Come on! It's only been what, 50 years?)

http://goo.gl/Fg8ZK
Billboard Sep 18, 1965
Astros Aim Rat Fing Hex At the Phillies. p. 59/5
> As reported in the Aug. 10 Houston Chronicle:
> "Tonight was Rat Fink night at the Houston Astros' Domed Stadium. All
> fans attending the game between the Phillies and Houston were given a
> Rat Fink in an effort to break the hex that the Phillies have had over
> the Astros, who have lost 49 times in 66 tries over

http://goo.gl/SGdTq
Boys' Life. Volume 54(10). Revell News. Volume 2(1). June 1964
Oh-h Brother! (Ad) p. 51/1
> (Brother Rat Fink that is!)
> Ed "Big Daddy" Roth is at it again ...he's created a sequel to Rat
> Fink even more hideously handsome than the original. It's Brother Rat
> Fink (on a bicycle yet with his own little friend, a sanitary Rat
> Fink)! No home is complete without this lovable pet which comes
> complete with wild painting instructions and an informative history of
> where the Rat Fink name came from. (Anyone really interested?) Brother
> Rat Fink...$1.00.

http://goo.gl/eekYp
Boys' Life. Volume 54(6). Revell News. Volume 1(7). October 1964
It's Election Time! (Ad) p. 11/1
> Cast Your VOTE NOW For Your FAVORITE MONSTER!
> Mr. Basser
> ...
> Rat Fink
> Despite name (obtained, no doubt, in mud-slinging campaign), presents
> outstanding choice in field rated fr snaggle-toothed creeps driving
> outlandish automotive devices. Also costs less to maintain in office.
> See below.
> Mother's Worry
> ...
> Drag Nut
> Backed solidly by Political Boss Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who is reputed
> to have something to do with some of the other candidates too. Carries
> small-size Rat Fink as ward heeler to try and win votes away from
> large-size Rat Fink.
> Brother Rat Fink
> Looks like the political barrel is stuffed with many different members
> of the Fink family. Not so! Each monster runs his own race...no matter
> how gruesome a candidate he presents! ...

There are also quite a number of references (from Jet and Billboard,
among others) to "Kannon's [East Side Manhattan] Rat Fink Room" and a
few literary mentions, including in Barefoot in the Park (First
performance: Oct. 23, 1963 at the Biltmore)

http://goo.gl/Z3GXw
Journal of Law and Criminology. 1938[?]
[looks like a glossary] p. 276
> Stool-pigeon ... The term for stool-pigeons in polite literature is
> /Government informer/. Addicts refer to him as /rat, long-tailed rat,
> fink, louse, mouse, stool,/ etc.

Very nearly the same:

http://goo.gl/AhdAe
American Speech. 1938 [?]
p. 191/2
> STOOL-PIGEON. A government informer. Also /long-tailed rat, fink, rat,
> mouse/, and several other terms which are unprintable.

For some reason, 1938 is a popular tag for descriptive terminology that
involves both "rat" and "fink".

http://goo.gl/lYNjU
The story of the CIO. By Benjamin Stolberg. New York: 1938
p. 144
> The favorite terms are moral degenerate, rat, fink, stool-pigeon,
> "Trotskyist" spy, fascist agent. It calls Norman Thomas an ally of
> fascism, Max Eastman a British agent, Homer Martin a Japanese stooge,
> the present writer a stool-pigeon and fascist.

None of the three have been verified, although the cover image for the
latter does clearly display "1938".

There is not a whole lot surprise that when two words appear in sequence
so frequently, someone would decide to combine them with the same
purpose ;-)

The only other snippet that falls between 1938 and 1963 and looks
authentic is the one for Bill Davidson, quoted by Jon (below).

http://goo.gl/17tpR

The rest, although tempting, failed the spurious-tag test--all appear to
be at least from the mid-1960s, some even later (like the Canadian
reference to "1-800-rat-fink" line, which is from the 1970s, but tagged
as 1964). Davidson's usage clearly was not original, but a quick check
that I ran did not revel anything of use prior to that date.

In any case, the plastic "monsters" explain why it was "popular in '63-'67".

     VS-)


On 4/16/2012 8:41 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > From the files:
>
> 1961 Bill Davidson _The Real and the Unreal_ (N.Y.: Harper) 181: In certain
> segments of Hollywood society, I have been called such choice names as an
> invader of privacy, a dirty *rat fink*, and an evil, whisky-drinking,
> poker-playing middle-aged man.
>
> The compound was a big deal from about '63-'67, IIRC.
>
> JL

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