What does fink mean?
A fink is an informer or betrayer — someone who sells out their companions, most famously in American labor history, where workers who crossed picket lines or reported union activity to management were branded 'finks'. The term is firmly rooted in informal American speech and carries a sharply negative connotation: nobody wants to be called a fink. It also survives as a verb, usually in the expression 'to fink out', meaning to abandon a promise or lose one's nerve when others are counting on you. In mid-twentieth-century America, 'rat fink' became a pop-culture insult, memorably embodied in Ed Roth's snarling hot-rod cartoon monster of the same name. The word's odd history may trace back to the German word for the finch, a small bird — a humble origin that contrasts strikingly with the contempt the term now carries. For anyone reading about strikes, betrayal, or retro Americana, understanding 'fink' unlocks a whole vocabulary of loyalty and its opposite.
An informer or betrayer of associates, especially a worker who undermines fellow workers during a strike or labor dispute.
"The foreman relied on a fink to report which men were organizing."
Strongly pejorative and informal; primarily North American.
To back out of a commitment or betray an expectation, typically expressed as 'fink out'.
"She agreed to testify for us, then finked out under pressure."
Almost always used in the compound form 'fink out' rather than alone.
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple informers or sellouts.
"The union hall was full of talk about the finks on the night shift."
The word 'fink' likely began life as a bird — the German name for the finch — before becoming slang for the worst person in the room: the one who squeals.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fink
The origin of 'fink' is debated but is widely linked to the German word 'Fink', meaning finch, which entered English through German-speaking immigrant communities, notably in New York labor circles of the late nineteenth century, where the name of a notorious figure associated with anti-union activity helped attach the word to informers and strikebreakers. Some accounts trace it to a nickname of a specific individual; the details remain disputed, so the safest statement is that it arose in American usage around the era of intense labor conflict. Its German root connects it to the finch family of songbirds rather than to any classical cognates.
How fink is actually used
'Fink' is informal and strongly negative, used almost entirely in American English. As a verb it appears chiefly in the phrase 'fink out', meaning to renege or chicken out. The related term 'rat fink' was popularized in 1950s–60s hot-rod culture as an insulting cartoonish figure.
Easily confused with fink
A finch is a small seed-eating songbird, while a fink is a derogatory term for an informer or betrayer — though the two words are historically linked.