pull out of a hat

Idioms  

1. Produce suddenly and surprisingly, as if by magic. For example, We can't just pull the answers out of a hat. This expression alludes to the magician's trick of pulling some unexpected object out of a hat. That object is often a rabbit, and the expression pull a rabbit out of a hat is often used to mean “get magical results,” as in Much as I would like to be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat, I doubt if I can find further funding for this project.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pull out of a hat

Mr Yousaf told Sky News earlier this week that there was "no rabbit to pull out of a hat, there's no ruse that I can cook up" to secure an independence referendum.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2023

Federal regulations are so detailed that the Department of Agriculture requires magicians to draft 28-page disaster plans for the rabbits they pull out of a hat.

From Forbes ● Jul. 31, 2013

"If somebody else has a rabbit to pull out of a hat then I look forward to them doing so, but there are only so many real world sources of making up this difference."

From Reuters ● Jul. 7, 2011