Idiom
the rabbit died
Meaning
Indicates one's own pregnancy, or that someone has found out they are pregnant.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“She told her partner that the rabbit died.”
“I think the rabbit died because I feel different this morning.”
“After feeling sick for a week, she took a test and realized the rabbit died.”
“My grandmother used to say the rabbit died to tell her friends she was expecting a baby.”
“He looked shocked when his wife whispered that the rabbit died while they were out at dinner.”
“The doctor called with the results of my blood work to confirm that the rabbit died, so we should start planning the nursery soon.”
“In a moment of quiet realization, she understood that the rabbit died and her life was about to change forever.”
Examples
simple
“She told her partner that the rabbit died.”
“I think the rabbit died because I feel different this morning.”
contextual
“After feeling sick for a week, she took a test and realized the rabbit died.”
“My grandmother used to say the rabbit died to tell her friends she was expecting a baby.”
“He looked shocked when his wife whispered that the rabbit died while they were out at dinner.”
“The doctor called with the results of my blood work to confirm that the rabbit died, so we should start planning the nursery soon.”
complex
“In a moment of quiet realization, she understood that the rabbit died and her life was about to change forever.”
Origin
The phrase refers to the rabbit test, a form of pregnancy detection developed in the 1920s. Though the expression suggests the animal’s demise was a specific indicator of a positive result, in practice all rabbits used in the procedure were killed so their ovaries could be inspected for changes. The idiom persisted as a euphemism for pregnancy long after the biological necessity of the rabbit had been superseded by chemical alternatives.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated