Talk:Rat Fink

Image posted, as per request. Pepso 17:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I deleted this line: "The Punk band The Misfits recorded a song with the name "Rat Fink" which was publicized in Night of the Living Dead (EP) in 1979." because A. it's not very pertinent, and B. they probably weren't referring to Roth's character, as it is a cover of a 1963 song by Allan Sherman (on his third LP, "My Son the Nut"). Despite the Misfits always crediting Sherman with the song, when it, its lyrics, or anything having to do with it is mentioned online, it is usually posited as being written by The Misfits or Glenn Danzig- no reason to propogate that here. 207.224.20.112 03:03, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ratfin.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 22:25, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I edited "Rat****ing" to "Ratfucking" and I felt it better served the article to simply link to the article to show it is being used properly. No need to unnecessarily censor it. 71.225.197.82 (talk) 16:16, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Did Ed Roth invent the *phrase* "rat fink"?
Merriam-Webster online dictionary gives 1964 as the first year for which they've seen proof of the phrase "rat fink" being in print, and this article says the character was created in 1963, so it doesn't look impossible for Roth to be the first person to combine those two words.

There might be proof that someone else actually said or printed the two words together before Roth did. But there might not. TooManyFingers (talk) 11:32, 24 September 2020 (UTC)


 * This is a very frequent Wikipedia issue, and the WP:No original research policy draws a bright line we can't cross. We can't piece together our own chain of evidence to deduce that something or other was a first or a record. It's totally fine here on the talk page if we collect clues and see where they lead us, but before any article can say "X was the first" we need a source which actually says "X was the first". This a pet issue for me so I wrote Wikipedia is not here to settle bar bets to pontificate about it. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 17:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
 * And I just checked the OED. It cites the New York Times and Winnipeg Free Press from two years earlier: "1961  N.Y. Times 9 May 43/4   The authors have facetiously labeled the contemplated musical as 'Ratfink', after the name of its central character, James J. Ratfink. Its title is not meant in a derogatory sense." ... 1961   Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press 13 Nov. 15/2   The film director accused him of being the worst kind of a rat fink.". The Free Press explains that the term is "Rat Pack talk". --Dennis Bratland (talk) 18:12, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Film Appearances
There should be a section of Rat Fink's appearances in film, and TV. One appearance I can think of may be his biggest appearance is "Bikini Beach" of the "Beach Party" series. He appears as "surfink" on a T shirt worn by "Bone Head". I think the title montage is of a painting done by "Big Daddy" too. The movie plot involved drag racing. Of course the fact that the film was set in drag racing, that the title painting was by "big Daddy, and had a character wearing a rat fink t shirt would be an OR conclusion that Rat fink's appearance was intentional. Because of the connection to Kustum Kulture in the TV show "The Munsters" because of their custom vehicles the occasional appearance of a "friend" of Eddie Munster wearing a Rat fink t shirt could also be OR. None the less he does appear. 98.164.76.40 (talk) 20:31, 16 August 2021 (UTC)