nark

plural narks · alternative narc

1. IrelandUKslangA police spy or informer.

   When we got to the Chief of Police's office a crowd of the most dreadful-looking scoundrels, obviously police narks, informers, and spies of every kind, were hanging about outside the door.

   1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XII, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC

   2 more examples

   So I went and laid down on the grass. While laying there I piped a reeler whom I knew. He had a nark (a policeman's spy) with him. So I went and looked about for my two pals, and told them to look out for F. and his nark.

   1879 October, J[ohn] W[illiam] Horsley, “Autobiography of a Thief in Thieves’ Language”, in Macmillan’s Magazine, volume XL, number 240, London: Macmillan and Co. […], →OCLC, page 505, column 1

   the bystander. […] She thought you was a copper's nark, sir. / the note taker [with quick interest] Whats a copper's nark? / the bystander [inapt at definition] It's a—well, it's a copper's nark, as you might say. What else would you call it? A sort of informer.

   1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, Act I, pages 109–110

   Synonyms: abaddon, accuser, beefer, bewrayer, bigmouth, blabber, blabtale, blabtongue

2. AustraliaslangAn unpleasant person, especially one who makes things difficult for others.

   Synonyms: spoilsport, assbag, assbreath, assbucket, asschunk, asscunt, assface, assfag

present singular third person narks · participle present narking · participle past narked · past narked · alternative narc

1. intransitiveslangtransitiveTo serve or behave as a spy or informer; to tattle.

   I don’t trust that guy; he’s gonna nark us out.

   1 more example

   “If you nark on me, I’ll rip your arms off,” said Tim to his brother, as he passed him a joint.

   Synonyms: rat, tattle, bewray, blow the whistle, clepe, denounce, dime, dime out

2. slangtransitiveTo annoy or irritate.

   It really narks me when people smoke in restaurants.

   Synonyms: irk, vex, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting

3. intransitiveslangTo complain.

   He narks in my ear all day, moaning about his problems.

4. imperativeoftenslangtransitiveTo stop.

   Nark it! I hear someone coming!

plural narks

1. alternativeslangAlternative form of narc (narcotics officer).