like a rat up a drainpipe
- idiom
- UK
:
como un ratón por un desagüe
- As soon as the police arrived, the thief disappeared like a rat up a drainpipe.
Examples
-
When the fire alarm went off, everyone left like a rat up a drainpipe.
-
He grabbed his coat and was out of the house like a rat up a drainpipe.
-
When the bell rang, the students left the classroom like a rat up a drainpipe.
-
He ran like a rat up a drainpipe when he heard the sirens!
-
As soon as the police arrived, the thief disappeared like a rat up a drainpipe.
-
He grabbed his coat and was out of the house like a rat up a drainpipe.
-
When the fire alarm went off, everyone left like a rat up a drainpipe.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At a fast speed or without delay
446
1.4
In a very short time
84
1.0
Quickly and smoothly
1
8.0
In a very quick way, like someone running fast
Very quickly and in a hurry
Very quick and lively in a slightly surprising, playful way
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
like + a + rat + up + a + drainpipe
The expression uses a literal simile: a rat climbing 'up a drainpipe' evokes a rapid, urgent upward escape, so a learner who knows 'rat', 'up' and 'drainpipe' can compose this image and infer hurried movement. This imagery is compositionally transparent (an animal + motion + narrow escape route) and follows familiar simile logic, making the phrase understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Like a rat up a drainpipe comes from the clear image of a small rat running straight up a narrow drainpipe to get away. That fast, sudden climb is why the phrase now means 'very quickly' or 'in a great hurry', especially when someone is leaving or escaping.