rhubarb
Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunisticallyOf fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically.
Recorded US: DroEsperanto, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Meaning
3 senses(UK)Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically.
(intransitive)Of an actor in a film, stage play, etc.: to repeat the word rhubarb to create the sound of indistinct conversation; hence, to converse indistinctly, to mumble.
(transitive)To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
Origin
From Middle English rubarbe, from Anglo-Norman reubarbe (modern French rhubarbe), from LatFrom Middle English rubarbe, from Anglo-Norman reubarbe (modern French rhubarbe), from Late Latin reubarbarum, rheubarbarum, rubarbera, rybarba, probably from Koine Greek ῥῆον βαρβαρικόν (rhêon barbarikón), from ῥῆον (rhêon, “rhubarb”) + Ancient Greek βαρβαρικόν (barbarikón), neuter of βαρβαρικός (barbarikós, “foreign; barbaric”) (English barbaric).
Attributed to the circa 1852 practice by the theatre company of English actor Charles Kean (1811–1868) at the Princess’s Theatre, London, of actors saying the word rhubarb repetitively to mimic the sound of indistinct conversation, the word having been chosen because it does not have harsh-sounding consonants or clear vowels.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
rhubarbs, rhubarbing, rhubarbed, rhubarbedTenses
rhubarb · rhubarbed · will rhubarb · have rhubarbedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.