| 释义 |
rattle (one's) cage rattle (one's) cageTo purposefully anger, upset, or unnerve one, especially to affect their performance or undermine their credibility. He makes a point of taunting his opponents before each match in order to rattle their cage. The audience member asked a number of embarrassing questions about her past in an obvious attempt to rattle her cage.See also: cage, rattlerattle someone's cage If you rattle someone's cage, you do or say something that upsets or annoys them. One thing I've learnt as an editor is that you can't create a truly superb magazine without rattling someone's cage. I don't rattle their cages and they don't rattle mine.See also: cage, rattlerattle someone's cage make someone feel angry or annoyed, usually deliberately. informal A humorous comparison is implied between the person annoyed in this way and a dangerous animal taunted by spectators outside its cage.See also: cage, rattleˌrattle somebody’s ˈcage (informal) annoy somebody: Who’s rattled his cage? OPPOSITE: smooth (somebody’s) ruffled feathersSee also: cage, rattle |