Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One that rattles.
- noun A rattlesnake.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A tumbling-box used to test the cohesive strength of bricks. A number of bricks are placed with a quantity of cast-iron balls in the box and the box is revolved at a fixed speed. The amount of wear shown by the bricks is a test of their power to resist abrasion: essentially a ball-mill. See
ball-grinder and tumbling-box. - noun Something that is very good of its kind, as a horse.
- noun A hard, brittle coal, like jet, which generally lies on top of seams.
- noun One who rattles, or talks away without reflection or consideration; a giddy, noisy person.
- noun Anything which causes a person to become rattled, as a smart or stunning blow.
- noun A rattlesnake.
- noun A big or bold lie.
- noun Among cutlers, a special form of razor with a very thin blade, the faces of which are ground to an angle of fifteen degrees.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who, or that which, rattles.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
rattlesnake . - noun A
freight train or, (chieflyUK ), adecrepit passenger train . - noun Something which
rattles .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a railroad train consisting of freight cars
- noun pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Although some controllers like such schedules because they effectively give workers a three-day weekend, controllers say they are known as the "rattler" because of the way they disturb normal sleep patterns.
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Unless a rattler is right where I'm living or working, I'll let it go.
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Unless a rattler is right where I'm living or working, I'll let it go.
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Actually, if you live in rattler or other snake country, many experienced dog trainers provide classes for dogs that specifically train them to stay away from snakes.
How can I teach my bird dog to avoid rattlers and other snakes. 2009
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They also make cobra-skin, alligator-skin, and lizard-skin grips, but the rattler is by far the most fascinating.
A Rod With Bite 2009
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Actually, if you live in rattler or other snake country, many experienced dog trainers provide classes for dogs that specifically train them to stay away from snakes.
How can I teach my bird dog to avoid rattlers and other snakes. 2009
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But the shift is known as the "rattler" because controllers say it doubles back and bites those who work it.
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But the shift is known as the "rattler" because controllers say it doubles back and bites those who work it.
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But the shift is known as the "rattler" because controllers say it doubles back and bites those who work it.
The Seattle Times 2011
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Suddenly, I am jolted back to reality by the fact the rattler is now along side my kayak and is lifting it’s head out of the water in an apparent attempt to come aboard.
ruzuzu commented on the word rattler
I love these definitions from the Cent. Dict.:
"6. A tumbling-box used to test the cohesive strength of bricks. A number of bricks are placed with a quantity of cast-iron balls in the box and the box is revolved at a fixed speed. The amount of wear shown by the bricks is a test of their power to resist abrasion: essentially a ball-mill. See ball-grinder and tumbling-box.
7. Something that is very good of its kind, as a horse."
August 8, 2011
bilby commented on the word rattler
Urban trains were known as red rattlers when I was growing up in Melbourne. Term has died out.
August 8, 2011
yarb commented on the word rattler
Term apparently still in use in the Black Country, bilby, judging from the tweet by @seanoliver86.
August 8, 2011
bilby commented on the word rattler
Died out in Melbourne. The trains were in fact a rusty colour so that's where the red came from. They were replaced by a generation of blue trains that, because the aircon always seemed to break down, were called blue boilers.
August 9, 2011