turncoat

plural turncoats · alternative turn-coat · alternative turn coat

1. A traitor; one who turns against a previous affiliation or allegiance.

   But some will cry Turncoat, and rip up old stories, / How I always pretended to be for the tories: […]

   1711 [December?] (date written), Jonathan Swift, “An Excellent New Song. Being the Intended Speech of a Famous Orator against Peace [i.e., Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham].”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 72

   3 more examples

   Federal prosecutors say that in addition to turncoat witnesses, they are armed with secretly recorded conversations made in the Camden, N.J., office of Mr. Stanfa's lawyer, Salvatore Avena, who has also been indicted on racketeering charges.

   1995 October 6, Selwyn Raab, “Brother of Mob Turncoat Is Gunned Down”, in The New York Times

   The opposition members chanted slogans against the turncoats and termed the speaker’s attitude as partial. To them the speaker was promoting 'lotacracy' in the province, prompting them to chant 'go Speaker go', and 'lota speaker'.

   2005 June 10, Raja Riaz, The Nation, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2007

   When they saw us coming, they all fell silent, the rats huddling together in the middle of the square and the humans parading around us with rifles over their backs, except for Mimile and Vidvn, who stood with the rats, having sworn to defend them against the humans, plus a few turncoat rodents who showboated on the humans’ rifles and shoulders.

   2026 [1979], Copi, “The Rat Orator”, in Kit Schluter, transl., City of Rats, New Directions Publishing, →ISBN, page 80

   Synonyms: apostate, defector, renegade, apostate, balimbing, butterfly, changeling, defector

present singular third person turncoats · participle present turncoating · participle past turncoated · past turncoated

1. To act as a turncoat; to betray

   Synonyms: quisle, sell out, traitorize, assfuck, betray, burn, cop out, cross out