supergrassn.
/ˈsuːpəɡrɑːs/, /ˈsuːpəɡras/, /ˈsjuːpəɡrɑːs/, /ˈsjuːpəɡras/, U.S. /ˈsupərˌɡræs/ British colloquial.
A police informer who informs on a large number of individuals or whose information is of exceptional value.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer > police informer
setter1630
nose1789
mouchard1802
rat1818
stool-pigeon1830
knark1851
police informer1851
nark1859
telegraph1864
copper1885
sarbut1897
Noah's Ark1898
stool1906
snout1910
finger1914
policeman1923
stoolie1924
shelf1926
grass1929
grasshopper1937
grasser1950
stukach1969
supergrass1975
1975 Times 7 Feb. 2/7 His police guards called him ‘Mr Super Grass’ because of the information he divulged.
1983 Listener 19 May 7/1 Following information from a supergrass, dozens of people alleged to be members of it had been arrested.
1995 C. Bateman Divorcing Jack iii. 31 He faced thirty-nine charges—thirty-eight for armed robbery on the word of a supergrass and one of stealing cattle.
2001 B. Broady In this Block there lives Slag 85 Maybe some supergrass or IRA turncoat had been resettled locally with a new name and a new face.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1975