Hill rat is an old American slang term for a prospector — someone scrambling through rugged backcountry terrain hunting for gold, silver, or other minerals. It paints a picture of a scrappy, weather-beaten figure digging around hillsides with more stubbornness than luck. The term has an affectionate, rough-around-the-edges feel, capturing the wild-west spirit of heading into the mountains on nothing but hope and a pickaxe. Rarely used today outside of historical or Western contexts.
Old Pete was a classic hill rat — spent thirty years poking around the Nevada hills looking for his big strike.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(US, slang) A prospector.
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