to reel off
- phrasal verb
- /ril ɔf/
:
desenrollar
- During the trivia night, she was able to reel off several facts about history in just a minute.
Examples
-
Davison, I presume. "I've got an address and phone number." Tiel wrote down the information as fast as he reeled it off.
Fiction book (2001) -
I had just reeled off some of the best golf I'd played in years.
Blog text (15) -
This "dead downhill" run let us reel off mile after mile to the east at good speed, 7 to 11 knots all day.
Blog text (7) -
He can reel off the names of all the movies he has watched this year without hesitation.
-
The teacher asked the students to reel off the key points from their presentations quickly.
Synonyms
54
3.4
To wind something onto or off a spool
11
4.5
To open something rolled or folded so it lies flat
5
3.7
Make a wrapped or twisted thing loose and straight
1
6.3
To unwind thread or tape from a spool
1
7.4
To pull a line or cable from a reel
To come out of a tight roll or curl
To unroll something or slowly finish a task
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to recite or list quickly' is not directly derivable from the literal sense of 'reel' (to wind/let out material) plus the directional 'off' — a B1 learner who knows only the constituents is unlikely to predict the recitation sense. However, there is a plausible metaphorical link (like ‘letting off’ items from a reel in quick succession) and the particle 'off' contributes a sense of release or completion, so the connection is partially recognizable but not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Reel off: The verb reel off comes from the image of taking a line from a reel and letting it come off the spool, like when a fisherman pulls out line smoothly. So it means 'to unwind' or 'to unroll' something from a reel.