bottom feeder

bottom feedernoun

• 1

  A fish or other aquatic creature that feeds off the bottom of its habitat; a flatfish.

  • The Apristurus genus, the second-most diverse group of sharks that counts about 40 species, is commonly known as the ghost or demon catshark. […] The sharks are bottom feeders and have elongated catlike eyes.
• 2

  derogatoryinformalA person who operates amidst or thrives on the unwholesome things in a society; one who takes advantage of the misfortune of others.

  • “[T]he rise of Facebook, Twitter and other social media has made it harder to control the flow of information, thus making it easier for bottom-feeders to bully witnesses.” […] Officials are still trying to identify the bottom-feeder behind that account.
  • The real-life cast of characters grew to include bikers, gamblers, a brutal money lender named Butchie (Andrew Dice Clay) and assorted bottom feeders like Gauthier’s accomplice Milton Ingley (Nick Offerman), a pornographer in the San Fernando Valley.