kill the rabbit
English edit
Etymology edit
Before the days of instant pregnancy tests, a woman's sample was injected into a rabbit. There were several varieties of tests; one allegedly would kill the rabbit if the pregnancy hormone was present in the sample (most accounts indicate the rabbit was killed and dissected either way.)
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb edit
kill the rabbit (third-person singular simple present kills the rabbit, present participle killing the rabbit, simple past and past participle killed the rabbit)
- (dated, slang) To get a positive test result from an old-fashioned pregnancy test.
- "What about her?" "She killed the rabbit."