A Packrat

Idiom: A Packrat






Context #1:
Chris:  Have you been to Tom's apartment? It's a total mess!
Jerry: Yeah I know!  He's got books and clothes and stuff everywhere.
Chris: He never throws anything away.  He's a real packrat!
Context #2:
Anthony:  Hey Sean, what are you doing?
Sean: I'm cleaning out my garage.  My wife says I have to get rid of all the stuff that I haven't used in years.
Anthony: Well, if you haven't used that old soccer ball in 10 years you probably don't need it.
Sean: I know, but I just like to keep things.  My wife says she married a packrat.  
Meaning:  "a packrat" is a term that refers to someone who likes to keep things instead of getting rid of them.  Often this is someone who has a hard time throwing things away.  This idiom was taken from LSI's textbook Reading Horizons, which is used to teach Level 6 Reading/Vocabulary at LSI schools.  For more information please visit idiomstudy.blogspot.com