rat race

• rat-race

rat +‎ race

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rat race (plural rat races)

1. An activity or situation which is congested with participants and which is hectic or tedious, especially in the context of a busy, modern urban lifestyle.
   • 2006, Richard Corliss, "Get Your Motor Running," Time, 14 May:

     […] a 1950s-ish town, keeping a sense of community far from the superhighway rat race.

2. (by extension) The busy, modern urban lifestyle itself, especially when seen as a competition for wealth or power.
   • 1979, Robin Scott (lyrics and music), “Pop Muzik”:

     Forget about the rat race / Let's do the Milkshake / Selling like a hotcake

   • 1980 [1962], Ian Fleming, chapter 1, in The Spy Who Loved Me, →ISBN, page 3:

     I was running away […] from my inability, although I am quite an attractive rat, to make headway in the rat-race.

3. (politics, business, finance) Inconsiderate or unfair competition, where the competitors are willing to do just about anything to win.

• rat racer

• carater, tarrace