rattle off

Idioms  

1. Also, reel off. Utter or perform rapidly or effortlessly, often at length. For example, The treasurer rattled off the list of all those who had not paid their dues, or She reeled off song after song. The verb rattle has been used for fast talking since the late 1300s and for other kinds of fast production since the late 1800s (George Bernard Shaw wrote of “men who rattle off their copy” in a letter of 1896). The verb reel off, which alludes to unwinding from a reel, has been used figuratively since about 1830.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rattle off

It’s a manufactured veneer of hyper-competence that he can rattle off whenever he is confronted about his personal misconduct.

From Salon ● May 16, 2026

In a topsy-turvy opening set, the six-time major champion Alcaraz raced into a 3-0 lead, only for De Minaur to rattle off three games in a row for 3-3, to roars of approval.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026

And the schedule gives them a good chance to rattle off a couple more wins—beginning with next week against the one-win Saints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025

Lucas can rattle off her unanswered questions about Stanley Wilson’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025

If all I had to do was rattle off lines of dialogue from WarGames on cue for the next two hours, this was going to be a breeze.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline