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rhyme off
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
v. — especially Ontario, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island
to recite (a list of items) quickly.
Type: 5. Frequency — This term is used most frequently in Canada. It is also used to a lesser degree in Ireland (see Chart 1). Chart 2 indicates the term is most prevalent in Ontario, and somewhat popular in some of the Atlantic provinces.
The term is not listed in Gage-5, ITP Nelson or COD-2.
The term is not listed in Gage-5, ITP Nelson or COD-2.
Quotations
1879
And the worst of it is, the children for the first five or six years have no idea of the meaning of what they read. To read well is to rhyme off page after page of their fantastic and grotesque looking "characters," without hesitation or mistake. About the only people who really understand what they read are the teachers and officials.
1941
Robert Jarman goes to City Senior league games just to hear the P.A. man rhyme off the names of ex-scholastic leaguers carrying the ball, making the tackles and scoring the touchdowns. Jarman believes that in a few year's time you won't be able to look at a football player here who hasn't played high school ball.
1973
In a passage too lengthy to quote, Reuben rhymes off last minute hold-the-wedding-for-a-while-Jack checks that every girl should make. Things like checking with a credit bureau to discover a man' s employment, credit and even marital history.
1985
He makes between $200 to $300 a week.
For every hassle, among them two minor injuries and two bike thefts, he can rhyme off an equal number of job benefits.
First, unlike most of his clients who are cooped up in offices all day, his job lets him be mobile outdoors.
1995
His obviously carefully prepared numbers-recital - people don't rhyme off data as he did without substantial preparation - seemed a pretty effective response. Judging by his self-satisfied look, he apparently thought so. Which means he obviously hadn't noticed the noose he had slipped around his own neck.
2006
Jim Lawrence, 56, said his fraternal-twin John, living at Clover Lodge for the past three years, can rhyme off any historical event dating back thousands of years, but because of his schizophrenia often can't remember when to eat, take his medication or bathe.
2013
In a lull, the officers rhyme off the many ways people bilk the system.
"There's double-ups [at automatic entrances], there's [abuse of] transfers, there's counterfeit tokens and metropasses, there's turnstile jumpers," Mr. Uncao said. "It boggles the mind."
References
- COD-2
- ITP Nelson
- Gage-5
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 5 Oct. 2012
