buy the rabbit en · VERB
Etymology
According to Hotten: from an old story about a man selling a cat to a foreigner as a rabbit.
Meanings
-
(UK, archaic, slang) To get the worst of a bargain.
This is ruffian-like, by superiority of numbers to endeavor to make honest people buy the rabbit.
1895, Horace White, Money and Banking, page 253:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| buys the rabbit | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| bought the rabbit | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| bought the rabbit | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| buying the rabbit | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |