Definition of desert rats:
(n) :
(historical, slang) A British or Australian soldier who served in North Africa with the British 7th Armoured Division in 1941-42.
(n) :
(historical, slang) A wandering prospector.
(n) :
One of various mouselike rodents species inhabiting deserts:
(n) :
A gerbil (subfamily Gerbillinae) of the deserts of Africa and Asia
(n) :
A kangaroo rat (genus Dipodomys) from North America
(n) :
A Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) from Africa