rumble seat

American  

noun

1. British, dickey.  a seat recessed into the back of a coupe or roadster, covered by a hinged lid that opens to form the back of the seat when in use.

2. Furniture. wagon seat.

3. Slang. the buttocks.

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rumble seat British  

noun

1. a folding outside seat at the rear of some early cars; dicky

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Etymology

Origin of rumble seat

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

The mock Tudor clubhouses were populated by all kinds of intriguing characters: a golf veranda was “a noteworthy blend of rumble seat, wax museum, promenade deck, theater wings and courthouse steps,” he once wrote.

From Washington Post

Mr. Murdoch, wearing sunglasses, sat on a backward-facing rumble seat as they made their way to the Trump-refurbished Macleod House, a 15th century mansion, where they had dinner.

From New York Times

And so I spent months riding in the rumble seat of my gram’s car to and from Westwood and hours sitting in the waiting room, until the day they let us know their findings.

From Literature

Two booths commemorate him: one where he supposedly proposed to Jackie and a one-sided table referred to as the “rumble seat” where he'd often sit.

From Washington Post

“That was a hilarious night,” Safer told People, “with Cronkite standing up in the rumble seat doing a kind of Her Royal Highness impression.”

From The Guardian