to rattle off
11
4.8
- phrasal verb
- /ˈrætl ɔf/
- Informal
:
decir de corrido
- He can easily rattle off the names of all the countries in Europe without pausing.
- rattled off a list
- rattled off names
- rattled off statistics
I'm going to just rattle off a couple from his book.
- I'm going to just rattle off a couple from his book.
- And he starts rattling off magic names on my phone.
- Well, he actually rattles off the general classes.
- I'm going to, I'm going to rattle off these things to you as well today.
- All those things you just rattled off, you don't know what they are, Right?
- I can rattle off a number of artists I've worked with, and we're all different people.
- October, I think, is a great month to rattle off the things you want to get done that have been plaguing you all year.
- You know, Tino Martinez, I'm rattling off different Mariners players and he's like, what are what are you?
- But so I know you have a couple of statistics you want to rattle off and let's rattle those off and then let's try to end this with some with something positive.
- I mean, if, if Taiwan were those percentages that you rattled off, was that for global, was that for the world's computer chips or was that US global?
- My final question then today, rattle off some things that you have got going on in your life or you want to happen in your life that is going to keep you sober.
- So just rattle off, I suppose, why you decided like later on in your life to get into bare knuckle because some people will think that's just fucking insanity.
- But he he rattled off something that that's cool.
- I mean, last night at dinner with me and my wife, you, you rattle off a few purposes.
- And, you know, in fact, there's there's people who have writers group where people take turns doing it so that once a month they they rattle off, OK, here's what, here's what I read.
- So there's, there's quite a bit, you know, you look at Amgen, you know, Pfizer's not as bad, but we we list the rattle off a bunch of them.
Examples
-
"Asparagus vinaigrette, linguine with white clam sauce, Pellegrino, a glass of wine," he rattled off.
Fiction book (1992) -
But so I know you have a couple of statistics you want to rattle off and let's rattle those off and then let's try to end this with some with something positive.
-
And he starts rattling off magic names on my phone.
-
Well, he actually rattles off the general classes.
-
I mean, all those sort of things like let me just rattle off some ideas.
-
It's funny, my kids would be able to rattle off the numbers like that.
-
As soon as Data was finished, the man began to rattle off suggestions.
Fiction book (1991) -
But I wanted answers, so after a pause, I rattled off some questions.
Fiction book (1999) -
As they turned onto Twin Oaks Road, she rattled off the names of the neighbors.
Fiction book (1992) -
The agent rattled off several variations on gardening, discussion groups, and environmental clean-up teams.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
3
5.0
Say a list of things quickly and easily
1
5.8
To say facts or numbers quickly and easily
1
6.3
Do something quickly without stopping
Say a long list quickly from memory
To say facts quickly and smoothly from memory
Antonyms
How Quickly
- Informal
11
4.8
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
‘Rattle’ evokes rapid, successive noises and ‘off’ has a particle sense of completion or away, so a learner could infer a meaning related to saying something quickly — the expression maps speech onto a rapid noisy action. However, the specific sense of easy, prompt recitation (often without much thought) is a metaphorical extension not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Rattle off may come from the quick noise of a rattle and the idea of things coming off one after another, like beads falling when you shake a rattle. That's why it means 'to say or list things quickly and easily'.