kill the rabbit
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Before the days of instant pregnancy tests, a woman's sample was injected into a rabbit. There were several varieties of tests; one allegedly would kill the rabbit if the pregnancy hormone was present in the sample (most accounts indicate the rabbit was killed and dissected either way.)
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]kill the rabbit (third-person singular simple present kills the rabbit, present participle killing the rabbit, simple past and past participle killed the rabbit)
- (dated, slang) To get a positive test result from an old-fashioned pregnancy test.
- "What about her?" "She killed the rabbit."