rat-a-tat-tat
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- Rhymes: -æt
Noun
[edit]rat-a-tat-tat (plural rat-a-tat-tats)
- A series of short, sharp taps, especially made by knocking on a door, beating a drum, or firing an automatic weapon.
- 2023 April 14, Rosyln Sulcas, “Review: Grief and Mourning, Delivered With Ecstatic Vitality”, in The New York Times[1]:
- A man, the source of the lamentation, appears and as he walks across the stage, his cries transmute into song, and the slow snare drum rat-a-tat-tat of Ravel’s composition begins.
Interjection
[edit]- A series of short, sharp taps, especially made by knocking on a door, beating a drum, or firing an automatic weapon.