Where does the phrase "Rats from Sinking Ship" originate from?

Answer 1

Apparently, it a bastardization of a quote from humorist James Thurber:

QUOTATION: I consider that that “that” that worries us so much should be forgotten. Rats desert a sinking ship. Thats infest a sinking magazine.
ATTRIBUTION: James Thurber (1894–1961), U.S. humorist, illustrator. memo to New Yorker (1959), published in New York Times Book Review (Dec. 4, 1988).

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Hey, found another answer:

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Rat (To).

To forsake a losing side for the stronger party. It is said that rats forsake ships not weatherproof. A rat is one who rats or deserts his party. Hence workmen who work during a strike are called “rats.” 1
“Averting … The cup of sorrow from their lips,
And fly like rats from sinking ships.”

Swift: Epistle to Mr. Nugent.

Answer 2

Sinking Ship Quotes

Answer 3

Like a rat deserting a sinking ship
Means: If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats desertin a sinking ship.

Answer 4

well to tell u the truth ive never heard that b4 but i would have to say, like way back when the made ships from wood and sailed to "the new world" the ships were infested with rats, and the rats would typically be in the very bottom of the boat where nobody was, so when the boat would first take on watter in the bottom the rats would try to "abandon ship" b4 the sailor , cuz wear the rats where..is was filling up with water

Answer 5

If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Answer 6

It originates from the exodus of rats from sinking ships when ships were infested with rats. Because the rats usually hid in the bilges, they knew the ship was sinking before any of the sailors.

Answer 7

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RE:
Where does the phrase "Rats from Sinking Ship" originate from?

Answer 8

Rats don't like water, and a sinking ship is obviously filling up with water. Therefore, this saying means to flee, run away, etc. I don't know where it really comes from though, it seems to be an old political term, from way back, but I'm not sure. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Answer 9

from the real fact that most ships used to be rat infested. When the hull took on water, the rats would scurry to the surface and leave the ship before being drowned in the hull.

Answer 10

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Several expressions in French attempt to link various practices perceived as unsavory to England, e.g., "l'éducation anglaise" (disciplining children by sexually-tinged spanking). Ironically, several expressions are used by both the English and the French to describe the same unacceptable habit, but attributing the habit to the other people : e.g., "taking French leave" (leaving a party or other gathering without taking polite leave of one's host) is referred to in French as "filer à l'anglaise" (literally, "flee English-style"), while the (now somewhat archaic) expression "French letter" (referring to a condom) is rendered in French as "capote anglaise". During the 16th century in England, genital herpes was called the "French disease" and "French-sick" was a term for syphilis. These are also considered examples of Francophobia.