to rabbit on
1
8.7
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
hablar sin parar
- Here's Gresham rabbiting on about the poor again, as if he could do anything, with his party feeling as it does about taxes.
And I had written this Australian character who just rabbits on for pages and pages in these monologues.
- And I had written this Australian character who just rabbits on for pages and pages in these monologues.
Examples
-
And I had written this Australian character who just rabbits on for pages and pages in these monologues.
-
So yeah, I've probably rabbited on enough for time being.
-
Wonderful questions, Hassan, and you'll have to stop me rabbiting on for too long.
-
And they talk in the lounge, each one of them rabbiting on and not one of them listening—repeating the first sentences until they have someone's attention and then pushing it out.
Fiction book (1994) -
During the party, she just kept rabbiting on about her latest adventures, much to everyone's amusement.
-
My colleague loves to rabbit on about his weekend plans, even though no one seems that interested.
-
He tends to rabbit on during meetings, often discussing unrelated topics for far too long.
Synonyms
86
2.7
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
68
4.6
Speak about something in a very excited, positive way
63
5.2
To speak loudly and excitedly for a long time without much thought
38
5.0
To talk for a long time without stopping, often giving too many details
15
6.2
Talk for a long time in an unclear way about small unimportant things
10
6.0
Talk for a long time in a boring, flat voice
8
6.5
To talk quickly and excitedly in a way that is hard to understand
5
6.6
To talk for a long time about small boring things
3
8.8
To talk a lot about unimportant things in an annoying way
2
7.7
To talk a lot in an annoying, noisy way
1
8.4
To talk without stopping in an annoying way
1
7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
1
9.1
Talk for a long time in a way that annoys other people
1
9.3
To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a boring way
1
6.4
To talk so much that you stop others from speaking
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a silly way
Speak with someone for a very long time until they get tired
Antonyms
How Long
- Informal
70
4.8
- UK
1
8.7
∞
1.0
- Informal
269
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
rabbit + on
The meaning 'to talk for a long time' cannot be derived from the literal constituents: 'rabbit' (the animal) gives no obvious sense of speaking, while 'on' only indicates continuation. This is informal British slang with an idiomatic verb use of 'rabbit' (to chatter), so a B1 learner who only knows the literal words would unlikely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Rabbit on may come from the image of a busy rabbit that keeps hopping and making quick noises, with on showing that the action continues; a person who rabbits on keeps going and does not stop. So it means 'to talk for a long time', often about small or unimportant things.