soaked to the skin; like a drowned rat
Idiomatic expression describing someone completely drenched, often from rain or falling into water. Used in phrases like 濡れ鼠になる.
He got soaked to the skin in the sudden rain.
He fell into the river and looks just like a drowned rat.
Standard kanji spelling for the idiom.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji 鼠 is considered difficult.
Compound of 濡れ (nure, 'soaked') + 鼠 (nezumi, 'rat/mouse'), literally 'soaked rat'. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a traditional simile for a person drenched to the skin.