To 'beat the rat'?

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Frido Schefft - 09 Aug 2006 17:23 GMT

Hello everyone,

I was watching the film "About a boy" the other day and I distinctly heard
Hugh Grant say "I think we beat the rat there, mate." This is obviously an
idiom - one on which my dictionaries are suspiciously silent, and so is
[1].

A search in Google (UK only, [2]) yields 36 results but almost all of them
read 'beat the rat race'. Now, I know what a rat race is, so it seems
pretty straight forward what 'to beat the rat race' means - something like
'not taking part in the competition for success etc. any more'. But I can't
really figure out what Hugh Grant meant.

Any help greatly appreciated.

TIA and greetings from southern Germany,
Frido

[1] http://tinyurl.com/qdtxp
[2] http://tinyurl.com/p4xq6

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Ben Shimmin - 09 Aug 2006 17:28 GMT

Frido Schefft <schefft@web.de>:

> I was watching the film "About a boy" the other day and I distinctly heard
> Hugh Grant say "I think we beat the rat there, mate."

[...]

I think you'll find he says `beat the rap'.

b.

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<bas@bas.me.uk> <URL:http://bas.me.uk/>
Enjoy responsibly.

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Frido Schefft - 09 Aug 2006 17:34 GMT

Am Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:28:37 +0100 schrieb Ben Shimmin:

> Frido Schefft <schefft@web.de>:
>> I was watching the film "About a boy" the other day and I distinctly heard
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> I think you'll find he says `beat the rap'.

Oops, well... But I still don't have a clue. What does that mean?

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Ben Shimmin - 09 Aug 2006 17:43 GMT

Frido Schefft <schefft@gmx.de>:

> Am Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:28:37 +0100 schrieb Ben Shimmin:
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Oops, well... But I still don't have a clue. What does that mean?

Oh, sorry, a definition would have been helpful, wouldn't it? :)

It means `avoid being punished'.

b.

Signature

<bas@bas.me.uk> <URL:http://bas.me.uk/>
`Red wine with fish. Well, that should have told me something.'
-- James Bond, _From Russia With Love_

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Frido Schefft - 09 Aug 2006 18:04 GMT

Am Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:43:48 +0100 schrieb Ben Shimmin:

> Frido Schefft <schefft@gmx.de>:
>> Am Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:28:37 +0100 schrieb Ben Shimmin:
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> It means `avoid being punished'.

That fits the situation perfectly. Thank you.

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Martin Crossley - 10 Aug 2006 22:06 GMT

> Frido Schefft <schefft@web.de>:
>> I was watching the film "About a boy" the other day and I distinctly
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> b.

There is a pub game "Twat the Rat" where a toy rat is dropped down a
drainpipe by the operator, whose hand is screened from view.
The aim is to arrest its movement with a single stroke of a stick as it
emerges.

Your explanation, though less fun, makes more sense.

Martin.

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Discussion Groups / British English / August 2006

To 'beat the rat'?