rabbit on
B2 informal inseparable intransitive
In simple words
To keep talking and talking about something boring or unimportant without stopping.
Literal meaning: To go on like a rabbit — perhaps referencing a rabbit's constant twitching mouth, or Cockney rhyming slang.
Meanings
1 B2
idiomatic
informal
To talk continuously and in a boring or rambling way, especially about something unimportant.
"My uncle rabbited on about his golf game for the entire dinner."
"She's been rabbiting on about this for years."
— Commonly attributed to informal British speech and frequently used in British television programs and press.
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Chiefly British and Australian English. Informal and slightly critical in tone — used to describe someone who talks too much without saying anything useful. Often used with 'about': 'rabbiting on about.' May derive from Cockney rhyming slang: 'rabbit and pork' = 'talk.' Common in British conversational English and the media.
Commonly used with
about nothing forever politics problems work
Forms
Base
rabbit on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rabbits on
he/she/it
Past simple
rabbited on
yesterday
Past participle
rabbited on
have + pp
-ing form
rabbiting on
continuous
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