Green’s Dictionary of Slang

rattle v.

1. to send away.

[UK]Massinger Parliament of Love II i: leonora: Slaue, beate him back [...] servant: Madam I rattled him, Rattled him home. leonora: Rattle him hence you rascall Or never see me more.
[UK]Beaumont & Fletcher Love’s Cure III iii: He was here [...] but I ratled him; I told him here was no Companions For such debauch’d, and poor-condition’d Fellows.

2. to unnerve, to frighten; thus rattling adj.; also vtr. to lose one’s nerve, composure.

Cottington To Strafford in Hallam Const. Hist. II, 89: The king hath so rattled my lord-keeper that he is the most pliable man in England [F&H].
[UK]Pepys Diary 25 Mar. n.p.: So I did lay the law open to them, and rattle the Master-Attendants out of their wits almost.
[UK]Congreve Double-Dealer II i: I’ll rattle him up, I warrant you, I’ll firk him with a certiorari!
T. Hearne Reliquiae (1857) 331: Townshend, one of the secretaries of state, hath sent rattling letters to Dr. Charlett .
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: To rattle one off; to rate or scold him.
[US]J.R. Browne Adventures in Apache Country 282: I think he was slightly rattled by the formidable appearance of our escort.
[US]Kansas Cowboy 23 Aug. in Miller & Snell Why the West was Wild 614: The city marshal brought up a six-footer of monstrous proportions, who got into a dive, and was rattling up the establishment.
[US]W.C. Gore Student Sl. in Cohen (1997) 21: rattle v. To confuse, embarrass.
[US]‘O. Henry’ ‘The Clarion Call’ in Voice of the City (1915) 195: Kind of rattles you, doesn’t it, to have the mysterious villain call up [...] and tell you what a helpless old gas-bag you are?
[Aus]Sun. Times (Perth) 12 June 2nd sect. 10/2: He says his game of talk helped win the fight, as it got Nelson ‘rattled’.
[US]H.C. Witwer Smile A Minute 135: I got up amidst the wildest applause and four shells from the German trenches. Neither of ’em rattled me.
[UK]Wodehouse Carry on, Jeeves 37: He took it without blinking. You can’t rattle Jeeves.
[UK]Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves 175: This little spot of friction had rattled the bearded bloke a bit.
[Aus]‘Banjo’ Paterson Shearer’s Colt 67: It takes much to rattle a Chinaman.
[US]I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 65: If he became rattled they were goners.
[Aus]D. Niland Big Smoke 153: Don’t let it rattle you, Jacky.
[UK]P. Theroux Family Arsenal 99: Mayo shrugged, but the talk had rattled her.
[UK]A. Payne ‘Get Daley!’ Minder [TV script] 51: You really think he doesn’t know who rattled Harrison?
[US]C. Hiaasen Lucky You 180: She slipped behind the wheel of a giant Ford sedan, which momentarily rattled Shiner.
[UK]Guardian Guide 5–11 Feb. 52: We can only hope that part two sees him grasp the chance to rattle him into defending his essentially Thatcherite ideas.
[US]T. Piccirilli Last Kind Words 33: [H]e couldn’t meet my eyes. He rattled way too easy.

3. to have sexual intercourse.

[UK]Parliament of Women B4: After spake Mistris Rachel Rattle a pace [etc].
[[UK] in Ebsworth Merry Drollery Compleat (1875) 77: If Venus and Mars so stout / Had joined together in battle, / There could not have been more claps and more bangs, / For he made her old buttocks rattle].
[UK]View of London & Westminster (2nd part) 44: [in a list of prostitutes] Miss Rattle [Is Visited] By Lord Belisarius.
[US]Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
[Ire]P. Howard Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress 4: Rattling his sister was payback.
[Scot]I. Welsh Dead Man’s Trousers [15]: I never rattled as many women in my life as I did when I was married.

4. (also rattle along, rattle off, rattle one’s ass, ...hocks) to leave, to move off, usu. quickly and noisily.

[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Rattle c. to move off, or be gone.
[UK]New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
[UK]Sporting Mag. May IV 124/1: Lud, Sur, I’ve been every where, / Round the globe have rattled.
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum.
[UK]‘Epistle from Joe Muggins’s Dog’ in Era (London) 24 Jan. 4/2: Away they rattled, right and left.
[UK]G.J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand (1890) 20: We rattled along by moonlight on our way to the barracks.
[UK]T. Taylor Ticket-Of-Leave Man Act III: I’ll drive to the bank — cash this — settle with those counter-skippers, and rattle back in time to see you turned off.
[UK]Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 70/2: In a minute we were on our way to Edinburgh. As we rattled along we turned out the ‘poke’.
Record-union (Sacramento, CA) 30 Nov. 6/4: They come off the train [...] ready to rattle their hocks for the hotel.
[US]Keowee Courier (SC) 13 Apr. 2/2: Everybody rattle your hocks.
[UK]C. Holme Lonely Plough (1931) 144: Lup said, ‘Like enough! Good-night to you, sir!’ and rattled off.
[UK]M. Marshall Tramp-Royal on the Toby 58: Along I rattled at a great pace.
[US](con. 1880s) E. Cunningham Triggernometry (1957) 209: Nor was it so simple as ‘rattling their hocks’ out of the American Valley.
[US](con. 1916) G. Swarthout Tin Lizzie Troop (1978) 196: Was he, Dinkle, rattling his ass, and theirs, into a trap.

5. to move about, to act with energy, thus rattling, noisly energetic.

H. Carey Honest Yorkshire-Man 18: O Bartledom [i.e. Bartholemew] Fair / [...] / Such Pork, Such Pig, / Such Game, Such Rig, / Such Rattling there.
[Ire]J. O’Keeffe Wicklow Mountains 16: In town I was gay; I rattled, swore, guzzled and gambled.
[UK]London Mag. Feb. 14/2: The kingdom of Kerry had the honour of giving birth to this excellent specimen of a ‘rattling, roaring Irishman;’.
[Ire]S. Lover Handy Andy 83: It’s I that’ll rattle you there in no time, your honour.
[UK]Era (London) 6 June 5/1: Werattled into Windsor to have breakfast.
[US]A.H. Lewis Boss 98: Shadow him: swing and rattle with him no matter where he goes.
[US]Black Mask Aug. III 49: The cops [...] hurried out to the Street as a patrol came rattling up.
[UK]G. Lambert Inside Daisy Clover (1966) 220: I could get up right this moment, and rattle around the house for a while.
[Ire]Share Slanguage.

6. (Ulster) to work energetically.

[Ire]Share Slanguage.

7. to hit someone; thus rattle the ivories v., to hit someone in the teeth.

[UK]M.E. Braddon Trail of the Serpent 315: The gentlemen of the prize-ring were prepared to fight as long as they had a bunch of fives to rattle upon the knowledge-box of the foe.
[US]Carr & Chase ‘Word-List From Eastern Maine’ in DN III:iii 248: rattle one’s slats, v.phr. To give a blow or blows in the ribs. ‘He rattled his slats.’.
[UK]Marvel 3 Mar. 5: Hammer him! Go it, Bodder! Rattle it into the pig! Lam him!
[UK]P. Barker Blow Your House Down 5: You want to rattle her chops a bit. That’d sharp cure her.
[Scot]I. Welsh Dead Man’s Trousers [13]: [Y]ou’re no getting rattled. Or even hurt.

8. (US Und.) to blackmail.

[US]Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
[US]Goldin et al. DAUL 175/1: Rattle. To extort money from.

9. (drugs) to tremble, from heroin addiction.

[Scot]Scotland on Sun. Mag. 7 Nov. 16: 95% of Glasgow’s prostitutes are injecting drug addicts. That’s why they sway [...] That’s why they tremble. Rattling they call it. They need a hit.
[Scot](con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 168: Ah’m a wee bit sick. —Rattlin? [Ibid.] 238: There’ still a bit of a drought up the road, skag-wise [...] I called Matty the other day. he was rattling like as pandas in a Chinese takeaway.

In compounds

rattle-wagon (n.)

(Aus.) a ricketty, rattling vehicle.

[Aus]Eve. News (Sydney) 24 Oct. 6/4: [T]axpayers are of necessity compelled to travel by rattle-waggon, bone-box, or brakevan, on business or pleasure, wholly destitute of seating accommodation.

In phrases

rattle along (v.)

see sense 4 above.

rattle off (v.)

1. (also rattle up) to scold, to tell off.

T. Chaloner (trans.) Erasmus Praise of Folie (1509) 103: I toke not vpon me to boult out the maner of bishops and priestes liuyng now a daies: lest any man shoulde deme how I rather entended to ratle vp theyr vices, than to spredde myne owne praise.
[UK]Congreve Double-Dealer II i: Sir Paul, have patience; let me alone to rattle him up.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: I Rattled him, I Rate [i.e. rated] him roundly, and told him his own.
[UK]New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Chickens Feed Capons 13: She [...] sate up for me her self, out of mere Spight and pure Intention to rattle me off.
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn).
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum.
[UK]Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.

2. see sense 4 above.

rattle one’s... (v.)

see also under relevant n.

rattle one’s ass (v.)

see sense 4 above.

rattle one’s cage (v.)

1. to effect emotionally, e.g. annoy, irritate, nag, intimdate.

[US]J.W. Dean III Blind Ambition 249: I think it’s time I rattled the cage a little bit and let them know the cover-up is really over.
[US]G. Pelecanos Down by the River 208: ‘I just like to rattle that redneck’s cage a little bit, that’s all’.
[US]D. Lehane Prayers for Rain 186: I’ve had my cage rattled by pros, though--wiseguys, cops, gang-bangers.
[SA]Sun. Times (Johannesburg) 30 Nov. 🌐 [headline] Nando’s rattling Robert Mugabe’s Cage [...] Nando’s, whose latest advertisement depicts the ageing authoritarian president.
[Scot]A. Parks Bobby March Will Live Forever 239: ‘Tried to rattle his cage but he was having none of it. Stayed ice cold’.

2. to make a fuss.

[UK]J. Cameron Hell on Hoe Street 60: Teach them some fucking manners, throw a fucking wobbly soon as they rattle their cage.
rattle one’s hocks (v.)

see sense 4 above.

rattle the cup on (v.)

(US) to betray, to inform against.

[US]A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Rattle the cup, an inmate making a noise on cell bars to attract attention of guard, often to give information about another prisoner.
[US]Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
[US]J. Thompson Getaway in Four Novels (1983) 74: Doc couldn’t split with her or let her split with him. She’d be too apt to rattle the cup on him. Buy herself a deal at his expense.