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

Congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza can quickly rattle off prices from the grocery store in the small town of Eloy, Arizona, where she grew up.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

By contrast, eventual champions Manchester City recovered from losing their opening match at Chelsea to rattle off 13 straight wins and seize control of the title race.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 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

Like the president had to be able to rattle off the names of all eleven hundred of his constituents or else he wasn’t qualified.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman