pull a rabbit out of a hat

English

Alternative forms

• pull a rabbit from a hat

Etymology

In reference to a popular conjuring trick.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

pull a rabbit out of a hat (third-person singular simple present pulls a rabbit out of a hat, present participle pulling a rabbit out of a hat, simple past and past participle pulled a rabbit out of a hat)

1. (idiomatic) To do something surprising and beneficial that is unexpected.
   • 2014 September 8, Michael White, “Roll up, roll up! The Amazing Salmond will show a Scotland you won't believe”, in The Guardian:

     But Salmond the magician's dazzle has not pulled those crucial rabbits out of his hat. Not on tax and spending, on the currency union which he wants (but rUK does not), on Scotland's relations with an EU which does not want this aggro.