---
title: fink — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fink» in the school dictionary: A fink is a person who tells on others to the police or people in charge; a snitch or tattletale. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fink/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/) / fink

# fink

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** fink, person, strike breaker, others, you, He · **What happens:** be, tell, fink, work, do, not be · **To what, where:** person, police, others, unpleasant untrustworthy person, someone, strike breaker · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«fink» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [fink in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/fink.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: US, slang, old-fashioned — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fink is a person who tells on others to the police or people in charge; a snitch or tattletale.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:m1:1
# text = A fink is a person who tells on others to the police or people in charge; a snitch or tattletale.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	charge	charge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	19	punct	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	snitch	snitch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	tattletale	tattletale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fink | a person and a snitch or tattletale |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | a person and a snitch or tattletale |  | the police or people | others |  | in charge | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V PP.recipient how S»: agent=Agent to police=Recipient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: US, slang — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fink is an unpleasant, untrustworthy person.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:m2:1
# text = A fink is an unpleasant, untrustworthy person.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	unpleasant	unpleasant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	untrustworthy	untrustworthy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fink | a unpleasant untrustworthy person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: US, slang — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To fink on someone is to tell on them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:m3:1
# text = To fink on someone is to tell on them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	fink	fink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obl	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fink** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | someone |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | on them *= they*; tell *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old, US — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fink was also a strike-breaker who worked when others were on strike.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:m4:1
# text = A fink was also a strike-breaker who worked when others were on strike.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	strike	strike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	breaker	breaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	15	mark	_	_
12	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
13	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	strike	strike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | a fink | a strike breaker |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** | past | a strike breaker |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | past | others |  |  | strike |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Don't be a fink and tell the teacher!»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x1:1
# text = «Don't be a fink and tell the teacher!»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** *in a quote* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **is a** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | a fink |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | infinitive | you *not said here* |  | the teacher |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent teacher=Recipient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He finked on his friends to the police.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x2:1
# text = He finked on his friends to the police.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	finked	fink	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fink** | past | He |  |  |  |  | on his friends; to the police | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the old film, the gangster called him a rat fink.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x3:1
# text = In the old film, the gangster called him a rat fink.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	gangster	gangster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	rat	rat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past | the gangster |  | him *= he* | the old film |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent he=Recipient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nobody trusted him after he was a fink.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x4:1
# text = Nobody trusted him after he was a fink.
1	Nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	2	nsubj	_	_
2	trusted	trust	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	after	after	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **trust** | past | Nobody | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | past | he |  |  |  | after a fink |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«You little fink!» shouted her brother.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x5:1
# text = «You little fink!» shouted her brother.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	shouted	shout	VERB	VBD	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fink** *in a quote* |  | You |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | past | little fink | fink's brother |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent brother=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Telling an adult about bullying is right, not being a fink.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fink:x6:1
# text = Telling an adult about bullying is right, not being a fink.
1	Telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	adult	adult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	bullying	bullying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
10	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	cop	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	fink	fink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund |  |  | a adult |  |  | about bullying | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent adult=Recipient about bullying=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | present | Telling |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **is a** | gerund |  | a fink |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [finite](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/finite/)
- next →: [finn](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/finn/)
- ↑ back to [F in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/)