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Brit. /
ratl/, U.S. /ræd(
)l/ Forms: OE hrætel (in compounds), OE hratele, ME rachille (prob. transmission error), ME ratele, ME rathehele, ME rathele, ME rathhele, ME ratil, ME ratill, ME ratyll, ME 16 ratel, ME-15 ratell, ME-15 ratyl, ME-16 ratle, 15 racle, 15 ratille, 15 rattell, 15-16 (18 U.S.) rattel, 15- rattle, 18- rhattle (Eng. regional (Somerset)); Sc. pre-17 ratle, pre-17 rattel, pre-17 rattill, pre-17 17- rattle.Also (in sense 5a) occas. reduplicated. [Apparently ultimately of imitative origin; compare RATTLE v.1 and discussion at that entry. In sense 1 apparently related to and probably cognate with Dutch ratel (16th cent. denoting both Rhinanthus and Pedicularis), Middle High German rasela, razela, probably denoting Rhinanthus (12th cent.; compare German regional (Rhineland) Rassel in the same sense). In other senses perhaps independently < RATTLE v.1 Compare Middle Dutch r
tele, rtel rattle, as used to sound an alert, etc. (Dutch ratel rattle, originally spec. as used by a nightwatchman (16th cent.)), German Rassel rattle, clapper, in early use especially as used by a nightwatchman, or as a child's toy (16th cent.).
Compare also Old English hrate (one isolated attestation, glossing the same plant as in quot. OE at sense 1):
lOE Durham Plant Gloss. 10 Bobonaca, hrate.
Some of the compounds listed at this entry could alternatively be analysed as showing RATTLE v.1; compare also compounds which are given as main entries.
In sense 3 perhaps a different word, perhaps showing a metathetic variant of WARTLE n.; compare WATTLE n.2]
I. Senses relating to objects or instruments which make a rattling sound.
1. Any of several plants of the related genera Rhinanthus and Pedicularis (family Orobanchaceae), which have seeds that rattle in the capsule when ripe and are chiefly parasitic weeds of meadows and pastures; spec. (a) (in full 
mead-rattle, white-rattle, yellow rattle) cockscomb, R. minor; (b) (in full red rattle) either of the louseworts P. sylvatica and P. palustris. Occas. also in pl. with sing. concord.
Freq. with distinguishing word usually denoting the colour of the flowers.
mead, marsh red, red, yellow rattle: see the first element.
OE Brussels Gloss. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker
Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 296
Bobonica, hratele.
c1300 in T. Hunt
Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 64 [
Camepitheos] anglice rachille [
prob. read rathille].
a1400 in T. Hunt
Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 64 [
Camepitheos] rathhele.
1523 in T. Hunt
Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 64 [
Camepitheos] mederatel or ratyl or fartyng-grasse.
1578 H. LYTE tr. R. Dodoens
Niewe Herball IV. lvi. 516 Yellow Rattel.
1611 R. COTGRAVE Dict. French & Eng. Tongues,
Creste au coq, ou, de coq, the hearbe coxcombe, Penie-grasse, yellow and white Rattle.
1677 R. PLOT Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 255 Rattles they hand-weed as soon as in flower.
1756 J. HILL Brit. Herbal 120 We confusedly call two genera in English by the name of rattle, distinguishing them only by epithets taken from the colour of the flower into red and yellow rattle.
1777 J. LIGHTFOOT Flora Scotia I. 322 Yellow-Rattle, or Cock's-Comb... The seeds..when ripe, rattle in their capsules and indicate the time of the hay-harvest.
1854 S. THOMSON Wanderings among Wild Flowers (ed. 4)
III. 209 We must not overlook the yellow rattle.., for ere long its seeds will be rattling in its seed-vessel.
1880 R. JEFFERIES Hodge & Masters II. 281 ‘Rattles’ and similar plants destructive to the hay crop.
1911 Times 21 June 7/6 The weed known as yellow rattle, rattles, rattle-grass, cock's-comb and horsepenny is very abundant in some districts this season.
1943 R. M
ORSE Bk. of Wildflowers x. 88 The yellowrattle..is by no means alone in this strange, root-sucking habit... The common redrattle, or lousewort, behaves in a precisely similar way.
1994 Times 2 July (Weekend section) 16/5 The grass sparkles with meadow saxifrage and yellow rattle.
2. a. A baby's toy consisting of a container filled with small pellets, which rattles when shaken; (more generally) any similar object which produces a rattling sound Also: a musical instrument of this type, sometimes used in tribal or spiritual rituals.
1519 W. HORMAN Vulgaria xiiii. f. 147, I wyll bye a rattell to styll my baby for cryenge.
1548 W. PATTEN Exped. Scotl. K viij, Great rattels..coouered with old parchement or dooble papers, small stones put in them to make noys, and set vpon the ende of a staff.
1583 H. HOWARD Defensative sig. *iii, Like young babies, they regarde..Rattles that can make a kind of hollow sound, more than matters that are sound indeede.
1612 J. SMITH Map of Virginia 28 But their chiefe instruments are Rattels made of small gourds or Pumpion shels. Of these they haue Base, Tenor, Countertenor, Meane and Trible.
1641 MILTON Of Reformation 38 Crosse-jingling periods which..come thwart a setl'd devotion worse then the din of bells, and rattles.
1711 R. STEELE Spectator No. 258.
4 An Entertainment very little above the Rattles of Children.
1798 S. T. COLERIDGE Fire Famine, & Slaughter in
Poems 238, With bones and skulls I made a rattle, To frighten the wolf and carrion crow.
1836 DICKENS Pickwick Papers (1837) viii. 74 The spinster aunt trembled, till some pebbles which had accidentally found their way into the large watering-pot, shook like an infant's rattle.
1871 ‘L. CARROLL’ Through Looking-glass iv. 85 It's new, I tell
you
I bought it
yesterdaymy nice New Rattle!
1929 Amer. Mercury Jan. 121/1 No hired wet-nurse, however dexterous, can do anything but teach it a few tricks with a rubber teething-ring and a rattle.
1956 M. S
TEARNS Story of Jazz (1957) v. 53 The typically African instruments, such as drums, gourd rattles, and scrapers.
1979 J. H
ALIFAX Shamanic Voices (1980) i. 27 An ancestral shaman..received the sacred fire rattle and was given instructions about..communication with the supernatural.
1994 Toronto Star 9 July
H7/1 Another poster shows a rattle, advising ‘Shake This,’ above a photo of a baby, warning, ‘Never shake this’.
b. fig. A toy, a plaything; a thing of no importance, a trifle. Obs.
1622 J. MABBE tr. M. Alemán
Rogue II. 18, I had..put into his head nothing but Hawkes-bells and Rattles: All that he tooke delight in were merry tales, idle jests, and the like vanities.
1661 J. GLANVILL Vanity of Dogmatizing xxiii. 226 Opinions are the Rattles of immature intellects.
1758 H. WALPOLE Lett. to H. Mann 9 Sept. (1846) III. 388 A man at whom, in former days, I believe, Mr. Pitt has laughed for loving such rattles as drums and trumpets
1797 J. R
OBISON Proofs of Conspiracy iii. 273 Weishaupt never liked childrens play. He indulged Philo in it, because he saw him taken with such rattles; but his own projects were dark and solemn.
c. An instrument with a vibrating tongue fixed in a frame, which slips over the teeth of a ratchet wheel and produces a loud raucous sound when whirled around.
Formerly used to sound an alarm, or more recently by supporters at sports matches.
1668 T. S
T. S
ERFE Tarugo's Wiles sig. A4, The Poets man takes out a Rattle and whirles it about his Head.
1792 J. WOLCOT Acad. Ode in
Wks. (1812) II. 509 That instrument the Rattle, That draws the hobbling brother~hood to battle.
1827 E. MACKENZIE Hist. Newcastle II. 726 Each watchman is provided with a warm watch-coat, a lanthorn, a rattle.
1866 MRS. H. WOOD St. Martin's Eve xiv, His next movement was to..swing the watch round and round after the manner of a rattle.
1895 T. HARDY Jude I. ii. 12 Troutham..again struck Jude on the hind parts with the flat side of Jude's own rattle, till the field echoed with the blows.
1906 H. S
TRANG In Clive's Command 6 Lusty cheers broke from the drier throats outside; caps were waved, rattles whirled.
1946 J. B. PRIESTLEY Bright Day x. 299 It was one of those big rowdy revues popular at that time, with..half-tight fat profiteers in the stalls waving rattles.
1989 Guardian Weekly 12 Nov. 12/3 The standard list of football supporting
accoutrementsrattle, scarf, flask of half-time Bovril.
d. A dice box. Obs.
a1732 J. GAY Fables (1738) II. xii. 107 When you the pilf'ring rattle shake, Is not your honour too at stake?
1788 F. GROSE Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) sig. Z4,
Rattle, a dice box.
3 In pl. = WATTLE n.2 1a. Obs. rare
0.
1611 R. COTGRAVE Dict. French & Eng. Tongues,
La barbe d'vn coq, a Cockes rattles, or waddles.
4. In sing. and pl. The set of horny, loosely connected rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail, which make a rattling sound when the tail is vibrated.
1624 J. SMITH Gen. Hist. Virginia II. 30 Those Rattels..they take from the taile of a snake.
1694 J. CLAYTON in
Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.)
18 126 The young Ones have no Rattles..but they may be known..being very regularly diced or checker'd, black and gray on the backs.
1704 T. BROWN Martial III. xliv. 151 Not snake in tail that carries rattle.
1774 O. GOLDSMITH Hist. Earth VII. 211 A rattle-snake..reared up, bit his hand, and shook his rattles.
1861 O. W. HOLMES Elsie Venner xiii. 146 The long, loud, stinging whirr, as the huge..reptile shook his many-jointed rattle.
1876 ‘M. TWAIN’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xvi. 135 Tom would not venture, because he found that in kicking off his trousers he had kicked his string of rattlesnake rattles off his ankle.
1946 D. C. P
EATTIE Road of Naturalist ii. 32, I did not cut the rattles off for trophy; I let him drop into the close green guardianship of the paper-bag bush.
1995 Nature 5 Jan. 26/1 By far the vast majority of snakes lack rattles.
II. Senses relating to sound, speed, noise, or commotion.
5. a. A rapid succession of short, sharp, percussive sounds.
a1522 G. DOUGLAS tr. Virgil
Æneid (1959)
IX. xi. 95 The bustuus body down duschit..Quhil all the erd to granyt with a rattill.
1568 (?
a1513)
W. DUNBAR Poems (1998) 155 His harnas brak and maid ane brattill, The sowtaris hors start with the rattill.
a1610 A. M
ONTGOMERY Misc. Poems (1887) iii. 29 Quhen with a quhisk sho [
sc. Fortune] quhirlis about hir quheill, Rude is that rattill running with a reill.
1695 M. PRIOR Eng. Ballad 102 The rattle Of those confounded drums.
1726 J. HARVEY Misc. Poems 76 Then in a Trice, a loud and sudden Rattle Gives the first Signal to domestick Battle.
1790 R. BURNS Poems & Songs (1968) II. 552 As Highland craigs by thunder cleft..Hurl down wi' crashing rattle.
a1806 S. HORSLEY Serm. (1816) II. xxiii. 245 The sharp rattle of the whirling phaeton, and the graver rumble of the loaded waggon.
1860 J. TYNDALL Glaciers of Alps I. vii. 48 Huge masses of granite..[are] sent bounding down the slope with peal and rattle.
1928 D. H. LAWRENCE Lady Chatterley's Lover ii. 11 She heard the rattle-rattle of the screens at the pit.
1954 E. G
ILMORE Me & My Russ. Wife xl. 284 A rattle of applause greeted his gesture.
1973 E. P
ACE Any War will Do (1974)
III. 189 He heard..no laughter, no rattle of poker chips.
2003 V. O. C
ARTER Such Sweet Thunder 402 He felt his father's gaze and heard..the dull metallic rattle of his belt buckle.
b. A state of uproar, commotion, or boisterous or exuberant activity (also as a mass noun). Also in extended use: energy, vigour, dynamism. Now chiefly U.S.
1688 P. P
ETT Happy Future State of Eng. 241 The great Controversy about Easter that heretofore put all the World in a Rattle, and almost shook it to pieces.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at
Bustle, What a Bustle you make! What a Hurry or Rattle you Cause!
1742 E. YOUNG Complaint v. 639 Think you the soul, when this life's rattles cease, Has nothing of more manly to succeed?
1750 JOHNSON Rambler No. 74.
10 She cannot bear a place without some cheerfulness and rattle.
1819 Fatherless Fanny xl. 385 They are equally matched, and both full of rattle, as it is called: he is a keen sportsman, and I understand she attends him in his hunting and shooting expeditions.
1874 C. KINGSLEY Lett. (1878) II. 424 New York was a great rattle, dining and speechifying and being received.
1895 Punch 24 Aug. 93/2 There's one thing, my boy, you carn't borrer, and that is my rattle and go!
1918 E. POUND Henry James in
Sel. Ess. (1968) 337, I dare say the snap and rattle of the fun, or much of it, will be only half perceptible to those who do not know both banks of the Atlantic.
1946 A. E. M
ORGAN Beginnings of Mod. Amer. Poetry 25
Daniel is full of rattle and swing.
1988 P. W
EST Place in Flowers where Pollen Rests 268 She was telling him he was full of rattle for one so little.
c. Sc. A strong pronunciation of the letter r, esp. with a uvular trill; = BURR n.6 1.
1743 Caledonian Mercury 1 Mar., Love is a Man low statur'd, black hair'd, and has a Rattle in his Speech. 1812 W. ANGUS Eng. Gram. 343 That boy has a rattle. 1891 W. GRANT Anecdotes 101 He had that defect in his speech known as a rattle or burr. 1955 W. P. MILNE Eppie Elrick xi. 115 He..spoke with a ‘rattle’ which signifies in our countryside that he could not sound the letter r properly.
d. A coarse bubbling sound in the throat, caused by partial obstruction by bronchial secretions; spec. (a) (in pl.) = CROUP n.2 1;(b) = death-rattle n. at DEATH n. Compounds (also fig.). Cf. RÂLE n.
1744 J. HEMPSTEAD Diary 434 A Child..died of the Rattles or Throat Destemper.
1752 G. BERKELEY Further Thoughts Tar-water in
Wks. III. 505 Persons have been recovered by tar-water after they had rattles in the throat.
1820 LD. DUDLEY Lett. 3 Apr. (1840) 244 The monarch is always immortal till the rattles are in his throat.
1848 E. BULWER-LYTTON Harold II.
V. v. 42 Godwin..tried to speak, but his voice died in a convulsive rattle.
1898 T. C. ALLBUTT et al.
Syst. Med. V. 142 The large coarse toneless rattles produced by mucus and air in the trachea and larger bronchi.
1931 H. B
ROUN in J. W. Barrett
End of ‘the World’ 218 The curious thing..was the manner in which it became animate just before the final rattle within its throat.
1965 E. H. F
LANNERY Anguish of Jews i. 21 The final rattle of a pagan hatred long since in its death throes.
1998 ‘A
VI’
Perloo the Bold vii. 40 Her breathing was slow and irregular, with a hint of painful rattle.
e. A rattling gust of wind.
1872 Hunt's Yachting Mag. Nov. 590 The cruisers caught a swinging fetch out of Kilbrannan Sound, with a rattle of wind that laid them into the rail. 1896 Daily News 10 July 3/6 They came rushing along in a fine rattle of wind. 1960 San Francisco Rev. June 38 His hand flicked down to the bomb door switch, a rattle of wind vibrated in the cockpit, and the cold, cold air of winter crept to them. 1993 M. Z. BRADLEY Forest House (1995) xxviii. 383 Outside the storm broke with a rattle of wind and a slam of rain.
f. Hunting. A vibrant note sounded on the horn at the kill.
1889 Graphic 28 Sept. 392 Sooner or later..the rattle of horns will be heard in the oak coppice..and
the stag,
the warrantable deer..will be on foot.
1908 L. C. R. C
AMERON Otters & Otter-hunting 203
Rattle, the note sounded on the horn at the ‘worry’.
1927 H. WILLIAMSON Tarka the Otter ii. 35 Then..came the prolonged thin rattle of the horn, and the triumphant whooping of whips and huntsman.
1976 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 16-22 Dec. 25/2 A rattle on the horn had hounds racing to the spot.
g. Papermaking. The crisp, firm consistency of a sheet of finished paper, which causes it to rustle when handled and is indicative of its hardness and density.
1900 C. F. CROSS & E. J. B
EVAN Text-bk. Paper-making (ed. 2) v. 137 As a consequence, it adds the quality of ‘wetness’ to the pulp, which again confers the quality of hardness and ‘rattle’ upon the finished paper.
1962 F. T. DAY Introd. to Paper ii. 24 Starch is added to paper furnishes and..its use imparts stiffness and ‘rattle’ to the finished sheet.
1997 M. B. C
OHN tr. C. James et al.
Old Master Prints & Drawings xii. 233 Its level of..flexibility, rattle and feel combine to inform us about the condition of a paper.
6. a. An empty flow (of words); a babble. Now rare.
1627 G. HAKEWILL Apologie iv. iii. 298 All this adoe about the golden age is but an empty rattle & frivolous conceipt.
1755 J. SHEBBEARE Lydia (1769) II. 193 What a rattle of words, without the least feeling or sentiment, does this letter contain.
a1920 D. H. LAWRENCE First ‘Women in Love’ (1998) xix. 237 It was all a meaningless rattle, this dissension.
1963 A. M
ITRA tr. R. Tagore
Chaturanga 12, I went up to him and, unintroduced, let off an incoherent rattle. I do not remember what I said.
b. A person who talks incessantly in a lively or inane manner; a constant chatterer.
a1637 B. JONSON Timber 127 in
Wks. (1640) III, I have met many of these Rattles, that made a noyse, and buz'de.
1716 D. R
YDER Diary 17 May (1939) (modernized text) 235, I was vexed to see her so long entertained with such a rattle as he.
1744 E. HAYWOOD Female Spectator (1748) No. 4. I. 167 Neither this old rattle..nor many others who act in the same manner, ever did a real hurt to any one.
1809 B. H. MALKIN tr. A. R. Le Sage
Adventures Gil Blas IV.
X. x. 173, I paid so little attention to the talk of this rattle.
1859 J. M. JEPHSON &
L. REEVE Narr. Walking Tour Brittany ix. 147 My companion turned out to be a lively amusing rattle.
1924 R. MACAULAY Orphan Island xiii. 143, I think he must have been a rather agreeable rattle.
1969 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 2 Jan. 3/4 Editor of a biographical history of philosophy yet welcomed as a rattle and raconteur.
1984 H. S
PURLING Secrets of Woman's Heart 34 Ernest's addiction to writers would have done him no good among Margaret's friends, many of whom in any case dismissed him as a snob and a rattle.
c. Lively talk or gossip; trivial or empty chatter; prattle. Now rare.
1748 S. RICHARDSON Clarissa III. xx. 127 Sir, said I, I see what a man I am with. Your rattle warns me of the snake.
1780 F. BURNEY Let. 4 June in
Early Jrnls. & Lett. (2003) IV. 141 And gay enough we were, for the careless rattle of Capt. Bouchier [etc.].
1813 J. ADAMS Wks. (1856) X. 86 If I am not weary of writing, I am sure you must be of reading such incoherent rattle.
1877 S. B. W
ARNER Diana xxix. 292 Mrs. Reverdy's words..had the air of somewhat different from mere aimless rattle or mischievous gossip.
1895 ‘G. MORTIMER’ Tales Western Moors 113 Hauld thee rattle, Dan'el.
1916 G. M. H
ARPER William Wordsworth 362 Coleridge's description of the passage sounds like the aimless rattle of a clever boy.
7. a. Sc., Eng. regional (north.) and Irish English (north.). A sharp blow; a noisy impact, a crash.
1632 W. LITHGOW Totall Disc. Trav. I. 33 The woman gaue the Frier such a rattle in the face.
1632 W. LITHGOW Totall Disc. Trav IV. 154 Then hoysing him vp.., they let the rope flee loose, whence downe he falles, with a rattle.
1720 T. GORDON Humourist I. 23 The Majority made such a Rattle on the Boards as quite drown'd the Musick.
1764 T. BRIDGES Homer Travestie II. 19 With such a rattle from the cart He fell as made the horses start.
1806 J. BLACK Falls of Clyde 200 I'd gi'e 'm a rattle, I'd break his collar-bane wi' a plough pattle.
?1865 J. A. F
ERGUSON Moudywarp 14 Wi' that hoo gie mi such a rattle on th' nob uz sent mi deawn o' my back.
1892 G. STEWART Fireside Tales 244 He fetched me a rattle i' da sma' o' da back.
1996 C. I. M
ACAFEE Conc. Ulster Dict. 271/2
Rattle,..a blow; a heavy fall.
b. A sharp reproof; a scolding; esp. in to give (a person) a rattle. Also with up. Obs.
1668 P. H
EYLYN Cyprianus Angl. ii. 257 Receiving such a rattle for his former Contempt of the Bishop of London.
1679 Hist. Jetzer 17 At their return he gave them a round rattle, and spared none of his course Eloquence to tell them their own.
1711 Brit. Apollo IV. No. 3. 1/2 My Wife has given me such a Rattle, that another Peal will rattle all my Brains out of my Head.
1842 C. R
IDLEY Let. in U. Ridley
Cecilia (1958) ix. 111 Wells..is tiresome again... I wish I had courage to give her a good rattle, but if I did I think she would not bear it.
1889 R. D. BLACKMORE Kit & Kitty xxiv. 79/1 Go and give him a good rattle up. He deserves cold victuals, and he shall have nothing else.
8. Newfoundland. A succession of small, noisy waterfalls forming rapids; a small waterfall in the course of a stream. Also: a fast-moving stream.
1770 G. CARTWRIGHT Jrnl. 22 Dec. (1792) I. 73 The rattles and rapids in the river are now broken up.
1861 L. D
E B
OILIEU Recoll. Labrador Life xiii. 166 In the different bays are brooks, and in these brooks are ‘rattles’, as they are termed, or, more properly speaking, ‘falls’, though none are of any great magnitude.
1907 J. G. MILLAIS Newfoundland iii. 70 We had only to unload twice in passing ‘rattles’, as they called the strong rapids.
1975 Canad. Antiques Collector Mar.-Apr. 23/1 From the sealhunt we have:..rattle, river rapids, and so on.
1994 Trav. Guide 1994 Newfoundland & Labrador 52/3 Trout and salmon anglers should be prepared to ‘meet their match’ on the many pool steadies, rattles and falls.
9. slang. = RATTLER n. 2b. rare.
1785 F. GROSE Dict. Vulgar Tongue (at cited word), Rattler, rattle and pad; a coach and horses.
c1824 in J. S. Farmer
Musa Pedestris (1964) 91 In a rattle sit two blowens flash.
1902 J. S. FARMER &
W. E. HENLEY Slang V. 378/2
Rattle, a coach, cab, or train.
10. U.S. Used as a mild expletive. Obs. rare.
1790 R. TYLER Contrast V. i. 66 But what the rattle makes you look so tarnation glum?
11. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S). In pl. Freq. with the. A fit of panic or nerves, esp. one which affects the performance of a sportsperson.
1888 Cosmopolitan Oct. 452/2 The younger players are not infrequently attacked by what in base-ball vernacular is known as ‘the rattles’, a complaint much akin to what sportsmen call the ‘buck-fever’, and actors ‘stage fright’.
1933 Dunkirk (
N.Y.
)
Evening Observer 1 Nov. 17/2 Four more runs were scored in the eighth, the result of a bad attack of rattles.
1974 E. BOWEN Henry & Other Heroes vi. 115 The rancher..was just back from the Battle of Britain bearing..a bad case of the rattles.
2001 Oregonian (Nexis) 2 Jan.
C1 Even opposite a phony Notre Dame ‘contender’ led to slaughter for bowl money, being out there with the words ‘Notre’ and ‘Dame’ supposedly births a case of the rattles.
PHRASES
P1. orig. Horse Racing. with a rattle: with a sudden burst of speed. Cf. with a rattler at RATTLER n. Phrases.
1865 Bell's Life 3 June 4/2 Longdown, too came with a ‘rattle’ to 12 to 1. 1888 Daily Chron. 10 Dec. 6/2 Bachelor came on with a rattle and won by a length and a half. 1926 Rifle Brigade Chron. for 1925 94 Buxton, who rode a well-judged race, came with a rattle and won the most popular victory of the day. 1977 Evening Gaz. (Middlesbrough) 11 Jan. 13/5 The Merryweather crew came with a rattle to level at the penultimate end 15-15 [in Bowls]. 1993 Racing Post 8 Aug. 7/2 But Gondo finished with a tremendous rattle on the stands' rails and failed by only a short head to get up.
P2. Naut. slang. in the rattle: on the commander's report of defaulters; in confinement.
1914 ‘BARTIMEUS’ Naval Occasions ii. 10 ‘In the bloomin' rattle, I am,’ explained the disturber of traffic.
1951 H. H
ASTINGS Seagulls over Sorrento in
Plays of Year IV. 72 You ain't gonna put him in the rattle on account of a bit of leg-pull?
1973 ‘B. MATHER’ Snowline xviii. 212 The Old Man..let the others out, but..your bloke is back in the rattle.
1999 Irish Times (Nexis) 9 Oct. 6 Magennis returned briefly to the British navy but left in 1949, a period of detention ‘in the rattle’ marring his final weeks of service.
P3. colloq. (chiefly Brit.). to throw one's rattle out of the pram (also cot) and variants: = to throw one's toys out of the pram at TOY n. Additions.
1988 Times 4 Mar. 44/1 Bates was warned for ‘verbal abuse’ of a line judge but Castle was more consistently prone to throw his rattle out of the pram. 1997 Observer (Nexis) 12 Jan. 12 He..is not disposed to undermine the cause by throwing his rattle from the pram. 2000 Truth (Auckland, N.Z.) (Nexis) 3 Mar. 37 He'll throw the rattle out of the cot and blame everyone except himself.
COMPOUNDS
rattle-baby n. Obs. (a) a doll which rattles; (b) a young child.
1601 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus I. ii. 155 What new paper hobby horses, what *rattle babies are come out in your late May morrice daunce.
1636 T. HEYWOOD Loves Maistresse I, in
Wks. (1874) V. 78 Fine little rattle-babies, scarce thus high, Are now call'd wives.
1638 T. HEYWOOD Wise-woman of Hogsdon III. i. l. 422 Why should I love her, why? A Rattle-Baby, Puppit, a slight toy.
rattle barrel n. now rare a tumbling-box used for cleaning and polishing metal castings.
a1884 E. H. KNIGHT Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 742/2 *
Rattle barrel, a tumbling box for castings, to remove sand, and, in some cases, cores.
1884 C. G. W. LOCK Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 252/1 These castings are put into a tumbler or rattle barrel, where they..become polished by mutual friction.
1934 Times 1 Dec. 24/4 Foundry Plant, including:..double worm sand mixer, 29 Rattle Barrels, Git Cutter, Coke Crusher..[etc.].
rattle-bladder n. Obs. a type of rattle made from a bladder and app. used to frighten away birds; fig. in quot.
1548 W. PATTEN Exped. Scotl. Pref. sig. c iiij, Our consciences, now quite vnclogd from the fear of his vaine terriculaments and *rattelbladders.
rattle-bones n. two pieces of bone or ivory held between the fingers of each hand and rattled together as an accompaniment to the banjo or other instrument; cf. BONE n. 5b.
1819 ‘D. KNICKERBOCKER’ Hist. N. Y. (ed. 3) I. IV. vi. 228 A full band of boys..performing on the popular instruments of *rattle-bones and clam-shells. 1914 R. HUGHES Clipped Wings 70 The meter of the train had hitherto been but a dry, monotonous clickety-click like the rattle bones of a dolorous negro minstrel. 1999 N. HAUGERUD Jail Stories 74 She told us how, as a little girl, she danced the Irish jig with her father in the barber shop while he played the rattle bones.
rattle-broom n. rare (now hist.) any of several plants of the genus Crotalaria (cf. RATTLEBOX n. 2a).
1698 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 324 Finger leaved Malabar *Rattle-broom..grows near three Foot high. 1712 Philos. Trans. 1710-12 (Royal Soc.) 27 347 Lupine-leaved Malabar Crotolaria, or Rattle-broom. 1976 Garden Hist. 4 19 He succeeded in raising the Hoary Willow-herb Malatai [read Willow-leaved Malabar] Yellow Rattle-broom (the annual Crotalaria juncea).
rattle bush n. any of several plants of the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae) having inflated seed pods that rattle when dry; esp. the West Indian Crotalaria incana and wild indigo, Baptisia tinctoria (cf. RATTLEBOX n. 2).
1750 G. HUGHES Nat. Hist. Barbados 212 The inclosed Peas, when ripe, make a Rattling Noise when shaken by the Wind. From hence they derive the Name of *Rattle-Bush, or Shake-Shake.
1848 R. DUNGLISON Med. Lexicon (ed. 7) 729/1
Rattlebush,
Sophora tinctoria.
1879 H. F. A. E
GGERS Flora of St. Croix (Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 13) 41
Leguminosæ..C. incana..Rattle-bush.
1892 C. F. MILLSPAUGH Medicinal Plants 52/1
Baptisia..wild indigo, dyer's baptisia, horsefly weed, rattle bush.
1983 Syracuse (
N.Y.
)
Herald Amer. 12 June (Star Mag.) 8/4
Baptisiaan old reliable plant... Sometimes called a ‘rattle bush’ because dry seeds rattle in the pods.
1993 S. C
ARRINGTON Wild Plants Barbados 45/2
Crotalaria incana L. Rattle Bush... Tropics and sub-tropics; not common; in sour grass pastures.
rattle-clap n. and adj. (a) n. a rattle; a rattling sound (b) adj. characterized by prattling talk or a rattling sound.
In quot. 18601 app: a rattle or other noise-maker used to frighten birds (applied fig. to a person).
1860 G. W. S. PIESSE Lab. Chem. Wonders p. viii, He may have been only a scarecrow or *rattle-clap to the birds in his master's corn field.
1860 E. G. P
ARKER Reminisc. of Rufus Choate v. 249 His was a mere fluency, a rattle-clap common English. He never had time, amid his splendid legal accomplishments, to enlarge his vocabulary.
1862 Dwight's Jrnl. Music 20 Dec. 301/2 The Germania last Saturday performed the ‘Consecration of the Flags’ from the Siege of Corinth; a noisy rattle-clap affair.
1969 Clearfield (
Pa.
)
Progress 15 Oct. 4/1 A sudden curve and a rattle clap across a wooden bridge and fields lie checkered with ragged angles.
2003 Home News Tribune (
East Brunswick, N.J.
)
(Nexis) 17 Aug.
A11 To thrive amid the bumper-to-bumper taxicabs, the towering skyscrapers, the funky smells and rattle-clap sounds.
rattle-free adj. that does not produce a rattling sound.
1921 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail 12 Oct. 10/4 (advt.) The tight, squeak-free and *rattle-free qualities and lively performance of the Essex when new, may be retained throughout the life of the car. 1962 Times 3 May 19/4 It [sc. a car] is impressively quiet throughout..completely rattle-free and draughtproof. 1998 Classic Car Apr. 70/1 Many contemporary ragtops felt floppy compared with the rigid, rattle-free Stag.
rattle-gourd n. a rattle made from a gourd containing peas, beans, pebbles, etc., and used as a musical instrument.
1791 W. BARTRAM Trav. N. & S. Carolina 505 The tambour, *rattle-gourd, and a kind of flute.
1855 W. IRVING Wolfert's Roost & Other Papers 293 Having a band of music with them, consisting of a drum, flutes, and a rattle-gourd.
1926 R. K
ARSTEN Civilization S. Amer. Indians i. 36 Not only the weapons of the dead chiefs were laid in the grave with them, but also their maracas or rattle-gourds.
1998 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 2 July 14 A tribal ritual formation, clanging cowbells, shaking rattle-gourds, striking skins aggressively.
rattle grass n. (a) any of several kinds of rattle (sense 1) found as weeds in meadows and pastures, esp. (more fully red rattle grass) = RED RATTLE n. (now rare); (b) quaking grass, Briza media.
1578 H. LYTE tr. R. Dodoens
Niewe Herball IV. lvi. 515 *Rattel grasse..beareth redde flowers, and leaues finely iagged or snipt.
1597 J. GERARD Herball II. 913 Red Rattle..hath very small, rent, or iagged leaues, of a browne redde colour... It is called..in English Rattle grass, red Rattle grasse, and Lousewoort.
1652 N. C
ULPEPER Eng. Physician Enlarged 186 Rattle-grass. Of this there are two kindes, which I shall speak of, viz. the red and the yellow... The common red Rattle, hath sundry reddish, hollow stalks, and sometimes green rising from the Roots... The common yellow Rattle hath seldom above one round green stalk [etc.].
1735 W. ELLIS Pract. Farming & Husb. 233 The Penny, or Rattle Grass has a Leaf like Wood-bine full of Notches, blows with a yellow Flower, and when that goes off, and its brown Head rattles if shaken, then it's time to mow it.
1855 W. HOWITT Land, Labour, & Gold I. ix. 165 There is a shrub..something like a chrysanthemum; but is covered with masses of hop-like seed-cases, like those of the rattle-grass (
Rhinanthus crista-galli).
1856 W. J. HOOKER & T. B. S
ALTER Bromfield's Flora Vectensis 602
B. media..Common Quaking-grass. Quakers... Rattle-grass. Maiden's-hair. Totter-grass.
1911 Times 21 June 7/6 The weed known as yellow rattle, rattles, rattle-grass, cock's-comb and horsepenny is very abundant in some districts this season.
2000 Washington Times (Nexis) 5 Aug.
A1 Steer clear of musk thistle, tropical soda apple and puncture vine, not to mention skeletonweed and rattle grass.
rattlejack n. (a) Eng. regional yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor (cf. sense 1) (rare); (b) shaly coal; also in pl. (now rare).
1877 E. PEACOCK Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs., *
Rattle-jack, a plant,..in some parts called cock's-comb, and yellow~rattle.
1883 W. S. GRESLEY Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 200
Rattle-Jack, carbonaceous shale.
1885 Daily Tel. 21 Jan. 3/3 To burn in the fireplace some coke or rattlejacks.
1920 W. GIBSON Coal in Great Brit. xiv. 195 In the eastern coalfield the average thickness of the coals and the strata between them is as follows:..Rattle Jack
Coal1-3 [feet].
1967 E. G. S
MITH et al.
Geol. Country around Chesterfield App. ii. 284 In old sections the miners' vernacular is retained and an explanation of the terms is given below... Rattlejack..Inferior cannel; cannelly shale.
rattle man n. Obs. a watchman provided with a rattle for sounding an alarm; cf. rattle-watch n.
c1596 in A. M. Earle Two Cent. of Costume in Amer. (1903) II. 59 Proved by the watchman and *rattleman com'ing about. 1689 in J. Munsell Ann. Albany (1850) II. 110 Zacharias Sichells, ratel man desyres he may have payment..due to him for his service as ratel watch. 1824 Times 7 July 2/5 That other humbug, the information filed by Mr. Plunkett against the bottleman and rattleman, about the beginning of last year.
rattle-noddled adj. Obs. = rattle-headed adj. at RATTLE-HEAD n. Derivatives.
1661 K. W. Confused Characters 51 Hees a..*rattlenodled, large-lugg'd eagle ey'd
Hircocerous.
rattle-note n. a rapid quavering sound produced by a bird, esp. a tuneless churring; (also) spec. the warning cry of the mistle thrush.
1851 G. MEREDITH Love in Valley v, Lone on the fir-branch, his *rattle-note unvaried,..spins the brown eve-jar.
1927 Times 6 Jan. 6/2 It does tally with that of the missel thrush, including the ‘rattle’ note, heard very much at this time of year.
2007 Guardian (Nexis) 26 Feb. 32 The song thrushes were the stars..producing streams of rattle notes that had the intensity of gunfire.
rattlepod n. chiefly Austral. any of various plants of the genus Crotalaria (family Fabaceae (Leguminosae)) (cf. RATTLEBOX n. 2a); also in pl.
1898 A. M. D
AVIDSON Calif. Plants 133 There are ‘*rattle-pods’, so common in sandy soil; this plant is called loco weed by the stockmen, and is believed to loco horses.
1935 F. D. DAVISON & B. N
ICHOLLS Blue Coast Caravan 268 Rattle-pod, a shrub that lived up to its name..when its branches were shaken.
1981 J. A. B
AINES Austral. Plant Genera 108
Crotalaria..Gk. krotalon, a rattle or clapper; because the seeds rattle in the inflated pods, hence the common name rattlepods.
rattleproof adj. (a) that cannot be flustered or alarmed (rare); (b) designed to prevent rattling.
1905 Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard 17 July 3/4 The Franklin shop turned out with all kinds of noisy instruments to try and rattle the Clipper boys, but St. Denis' boys were ‘*rattle proof’. 1910 Manitoba (Winnipeg) Morning Free Press 24 Sept. 21/2 (advt.) Quality Beds are rattle-proof because they are put together to stay. 1992 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Oct. 49/1 (caption) A cement made of putty, linseed oil, soot and lamp-black is scrubbed and rubbed over the surfaces..to render the window air and water tight and securely rattle-proof.
rattleproofing n. the process of making something rattleproof.
1936 L. STOLTENBERG U.S. Patent 2,031,338 2/1 This invention has reference to new and useful improvements in weather proofing and weather stripping also the *rattle proofing of double hung windows. 1976 Norwich Mercury 19 Nov. 8/5 (advt.) But Ziebart is rustproofing and soundproofing..and squeakproofing and rattleproofing.
rattle-skull n. orig. Sc. & Eng. regional = RATTLE-BRAIN n.
1725 A. RAMSAY Gentle Shepherd I. ii. 10 How can ye loo that *Rattle-scul?
1788 A. SHIRREFS Poems (1790) 86 Some rattle-scull.like Geordy Will.
1824 J. MACTAGGART Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 404 A confused mass of words, the language of a rattle-scull.
1884 ‘J. STRATHESK’ More Bits from Blinkbonny 120 He's a rattleskull of a laddie, Charlie, and does things..more out of the exuberant goodness of his heart, than that he means anything in particular.
1887 T. DARLINGTON Folk-speech S. Cheshire,
Rattle-skull, a talkative person; a chatter-box.
1924 Ogden (
Utah
)
Standard-Examiner 24 Oct. 13/6 Deportation of parlor rattle-skulls who say, ‘Now stop me if you've heard this one.’
1993 Augusta (
Georgia
)
Chron. (Nexis) 18 Aug.
C1 Four synonyms for yahoo: 1. Featherbrain. 2. Rattleskull. 3. Empty-head. 4. Dufus.
rattle-skulled adj. Sc. Obs. = RATTLE-BRAINED adj.
a1779 D. GRAHAM Coll. Writings (1883) II. 207 His mither was a rattling *rattle-scul'd wife.
1806 SCOTT Lett. (1932) I. 325 A rattle-skulled half-lawyer, half-sportsman.
rattle-watch n. now hist. a body of watchmen provided with rattles for sounding an alarm (esp. in colonial New York City); a member of such a body.
1688 W. KER Remarks Govt. Germany in J. Ker Mem. (1727) III. 75 They are obliged to contribute..towards the Night-Watch or *Rattle-Watch, who walk the Streets the whole Night to keep good Orders. 1689 in J. Munsell Ann. Albany (1850) II. 110 Zacharias Sichells, ratel man desyres he may have payment..due to him for his service as ratel watch. 1897 Wellsboro (Pa.) Agitator 2 July 1/5 Nothing could be heard but the distant cry of the rattle watch as they told the hour. 1982 S. B. FLEXNER Listening to Amer. 221 In 1658 Stuyvesant began the rattle watch, so called because it patrolled New Amsterdam's streets at night and alerted the Dutch colonists to fires by shaking wooden rattles.
rattlewings n. (also rattlewing) Eng. regional (now rare) the goldeneye duck, Bucephala clangula.
1843 W. YARRELL Hist. Brit. Birds III. 274 The boat-shooters [near Yarmouth]..are well acquainted with the Golden Eye, or *Rattle-wings, as they call it.
1879 T. S
OUTHWELL Lubbock's Observ. Fauna Norfolk (ed. 2) 159 (
note) Provincial, ‘Rattlewing’.
1894 D. JORDAN Within Hour of London (ed. 3) 153 The morillon or rattle-wings.
rattlewort n. (a) (perh.) a plant of the genus Rhinanthus (cf. sense 1) (obs.); (b) chiefly Caribbean (now rare) any of various plants of the genus Crotalaria (cf. RATTLEBOX n. 2a).
OE Brussels Gloss. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker
Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 301
Hierobotanum, *hrætelwyrt.
1770 C. M
ILNE Bot. Dict. sig. Y3,
Crotalaria, Rattle-wort.
1866 J. LINDLEY &
T. MOORE Treasury Bot. 961/1
Rattlewort,
Crotalaria.
1970 E. T. ROBERTSON & E. G. B. G
OODING Bot. for Caribbean (ed. 2) xxiii. 173 In Jamaica the members of the genus
Crotalaria are known as ‘Rattleworts’.
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