English Idioms
Comprehensive resource for understanding and mastering English idioms
Rabbit hole
Meaning
The idiom "rabbit hole" refers to a situation or task that becomes increasingly complex, difficult, and time-consuming as one delves deeper into it. It can also refer to a distraction or an unnecessary detour from the main topic or purpose.
Usage
- I started investigating this company's financial records and before I knew it, I fell down a rabbit hole of legal documents and accounting jargon.
- I was trying to help my friend with their homework, but we ended up going down a rabbit hole of trivia questions that took hours to answer.
- The politician's response to the question went off on a tangent and before long, they were talking about something completely unrelated - it's like they fell down a rabbit hole.
- I was trying to learn a new language, but the grammar rules seemed so complicated that I felt like I was tumbling down a rabbit hole of confusion.
- The meeting started out promisingly, but as soon as we brought up the subject of budget cuts, we found ourselves arguing about every little detail and before long, we were lost in a rabbit hole of debates. The usage of the idiom "rabbit hole" can vary depending on the context. For example, it can be used to describe a personal experience or a situation that one has encountered. It can also be used to criticize someone else's actions or behaviors.
Roots and History
The earliest known use of the idiom "rabbit hole" can be traced back to Lewis Carroll's novel "Alice in Wonderland," where Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastical world full of strange creatures and wonders. The phrase has since become a metaphor for getting lost or overwhelmed in a complex or difficult situation. Over time, the idiom has evolved to include a wider range of meanings and contexts. It is now commonly used in everyday conversation to describe any situation that becomes increasingly complicated or distracting as one delves deeper into it.
Synonyms in English
- Black hole
- Deep end
- Pandora's box
- wormhole
- vortex
Synonyms in other languages
- 廣闊 (Chinese) - means "expand" or "widen"
- 洞察力 (Japanese) - means "intuition" or "insight"
- צוּמות (Hebrew) - means "pits" or "abysses"
- החרעים (Hebrew) - means "evils" or "corruptions"
- לאשׂנים (Hebrew) - means "wild goats" or "untamed beasts"