cab off the rank

English

Etymology

Figurative reference to cabs at a taxi rank, which wait in a line for passengers, the frontmost cab departing first.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

cab off the rank (plural cabs off the rank)

1. (Australia) Something fitting or occurring at a specified point in a series.
   • 2009, Karen Welberry, Tanya Dalziell, Cultural Seeds: Essays on the Work of Nick Cave, page 34:

     The Boys Next Door […] were as likely a prospect as the Australian new wave was going to throw up, could have been and in many ways were the next cab off the rank after the Saints and Radio Birdman, Australia's twin prophets of punk.

   • 2010, Antonia Magee, Living Thin, page 128:

     Once again I left Jason's office in high spirits. First cab off the rank was to pay off the LAND card and I intended to do it straightaway, like ripping off a band-aid.

Usage notes

• Used in the forms first cab off the rank, next cab off the rank, and last cab off the rank.

Related terms

• cab-rank rule