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Rabbit was (is?) slang for talking. That maybe behind the name. Also love the storytelling and research here. And Rumbelows is another blast from the past. Is

Rabbit was (is?) slang for talking. That maybe behind the name. Also love the storytelling and research here. And Rumbelows is another blast from the past. Is that still around?

helsinkiandrew 3y ago
Remember the name but not the store - according to Wiki they closed in 1995. I have to give them credit for making a valiant effort though: > Rumbelows had been losing £12 million yearly, and had never made a profit in its 24 years of existence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows
- dspillett 3y ago
  > losing £12 million yearly, and had never made a profit in its 24 years of existence Blazing the trail for modern internet companies! Once again young'n's think they invented everything, including such games of economic chicken, but we find nothing is really new.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
PUSH_AX 3y ago
Rumbelows was bought by Radio Rentals, who then merged with Granada plc, who then merged with Carlton to become ITV.
- buggeryorkshire 3y ago
  I worked for a competitor to RR (Visionhire) when a teenager, BSkyB had started the first satellite TV series in the UK. Nobody wanted to buy it (why would I need more than 4 TV channels?) so they gave it free, including installation, for 6 months before charging money. Unfortunately so many people wanted to cancel after the 6 months there was a huge backlog waiting to get somebody to take the dish down. People were unbelievable angry, I worked in the callcentre and we'd have people turning up threatening to kill us, others sent us boxes full of literal shit. Not the greatest job ever.
  - mattl 3y ago
    BSB was first (Squarials!) and Sky second and then they merged pretty early on. Rumbelows went out of business, many stores became Escom and they too went out of business pretty quickly.
    - memsom 3y ago
      Escom acquired the Amiga brand and distributed Amiga hardware (till they went out of business.)
      - mattl 3y ago
        Commodore brand too. I very nearly bought an Escom Amiga in May 1996 but got a Pentium 60 Commodore branded PC instead. By July Escom was done.
b800h 3y ago
This would be an ideal opportunity to introduce American readers to Chas'n'Dave, here performing their song "Rabbit" which is indeed about talking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0&pp=ygUUY2hhcyBhbmQgZGF2ZSByYWJiaXQ%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0&pp=ygUUY2hhcyBhb...
- brickers 3y ago
  They might already be familiar with Dave’s bassline from Eminem’s “My Name Is”. My personal favourite bit of music trivia
  - defrost 3y ago
    with your incessant talking, you're becoming a pest, On the same theme, more recently, Leave Me Lonely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKifJ4Q5ph0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKifJ4Q5ph0
  - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
    Wasn't Eminem's nickname, "Rabbit?"
    - toyg 3y ago
      In 8 Mile, yes.
      - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
        Ah. Creative license?
pjc50 3y ago
Rabbit cages are called "hutches", which may have inspired a pun on Hutchinson Telecom.
zarzavat 3y ago
Definitely is still slang, as in “what are you rabbiting on about?” From rhyming slang “rabbit and pork = talk” apparently. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rabbiting+on https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rabbiting+on
- bombcar 3y ago
  Loving that nothing in the rhyming slang rhymes.
  - closewith 3y ago
    It does, just maybe not in your accent.
    - strken 3y ago
      I'm actually having difficulty working out in which accent they don't rhyme. Presumably talk is different, but I'm not sure how.
      - MistahKoala 3y ago
        I think he might be referring to the words themselves - 'rabbit' and 'pork' - in that, despite not rhyming, together they are nonetheless described as rhyming slang.
        lupire 3y ago
        The rhyme is "pork" and "talk". In rhyming slang, the slang term rhymes with the original meaning word. Example: "comment and post" for "eat toast".
        datascienced 3y ago
        Apples and pears: stairs for example too (for a single word example)
closewith 3y ago
I think it's a combination of slang for talking, the association of rabbits with rabbit-ear TV antennae, and the fact the parent company was Hutchinson.
nprateem 3y ago
I like a good rabbit down the dog and bone.
odanalysis 3y ago
Maybe it's because it is a [Hutch]ison product...
srmarm 3y ago
Rumbelows went bankrupt in 1995 apparently. I was a kids and it sticks in my mind as I used to get my mum to take me into the electrical shops after school as a treat and they had a proper fire sale with everything being sold off cheap. I find those liquidation sales quite depressing now but at the time it stuck out as being really exciting and we got a stereo quite cheap.

Rabbit was (is?) slang for talking. That maybe behind the name. Also love the storytelling and research here. And Rumbelows is another blast from the past. Is that still around?

helsinkiandrew 3y ago

Remember the name but not the store - according to Wiki they closed in 1995. I have to give them credit for making a valiant effort though: > Rumbelows had been losing £12 million yearly, and had never made a profit in its 24 years of existence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows

dspillett 3y ago
> losing £12 million yearly, and had never made a profit in its 24 years of existence Blazing the trail for modern internet companies! Once again young'n's think they invented everything, including such games of economic chicken, but we find nothing is really new.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

PUSH_AX 3y ago

Rumbelows was bought by Radio Rentals, who then merged with Granada plc, who then merged with Carlton to become ITV.

buggeryorkshire 3y ago
I worked for a competitor to RR (Visionhire) when a teenager, BSkyB had started the first satellite TV series in the UK. Nobody wanted to buy it (why would I need more than 4 TV channels?) so they gave it free, including installation, for 6 months before charging money. Unfortunately so many people wanted to cancel after the 6 months there was a huge backlog waiting to get somebody to take the dish down. People were unbelievable angry, I worked in the callcentre and we'd have people turning up threatening to kill us, others sent us boxes full of literal shit. Not the greatest job ever.
- mattl 3y ago
  BSB was first (Squarials!) and Sky second and then they merged pretty early on. Rumbelows went out of business, many stores became Escom and they too went out of business pretty quickly.
  - memsom 3y ago
    Escom acquired the Amiga brand and distributed Amiga hardware (till they went out of business.)
    - mattl 3y ago
      Commodore brand too. I very nearly bought an Escom Amiga in May 1996 but got a Pentium 60 Commodore branded PC instead. By July Escom was done.

b800h 3y ago

This would be an ideal opportunity to introduce American readers to Chas'n'Dave, here performing their song "Rabbit" which is indeed about talking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0&pp=ygUUY2hhcyBhbmQgZGF2ZSByYWJiaXQ%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0&pp=ygUUY2hhcyBhb...

brickers 3y ago
They might already be familiar with Dave’s bassline from Eminem’s “My Name Is”. My personal favourite bit of music trivia
- defrost 3y ago
  with your incessant talking, you're becoming a pest, On the same theme, more recently, Leave Me Lonely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKifJ4Q5ph0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKifJ4Q5ph0
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  Wasn't Eminem's nickname, "Rabbit?"
  - toyg 3y ago
    In 8 Mile, yes.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
      Ah. Creative license?

pjc50 3y ago

Rabbit cages are called "hutches", which may have inspired a pun on Hutchinson Telecom.

zarzavat 3y ago

Definitely is still slang, as in “what are you rabbiting on about?” From rhyming slang “rabbit and pork = talk” apparently. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rabbiting+on https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rabbiting+on

bombcar 3y ago
Loving that nothing in the rhyming slang rhymes.
- closewith 3y ago
  It does, just maybe not in your accent.
  - strken 3y ago
    I'm actually having difficulty working out in which accent they don't rhyme. Presumably talk is different, but I'm not sure how.
    - MistahKoala 3y ago
      I think he might be referring to the words themselves - 'rabbit' and 'pork' - in that, despite not rhyming, together they are nonetheless described as rhyming slang.
      - lupire 3y ago
        The rhyme is "pork" and "talk". In rhyming slang, the slang term rhymes with the original meaning word. Example: "comment and post" for "eat toast".
        datascienced 3y ago
        Apples and pears: stairs for example too (for a single word example)

closewith 3y ago

I think it's a combination of slang for talking, the association of rabbits with rabbit-ear TV antennae, and the fact the parent company was Hutchinson.

nprateem 3y ago

I like a good rabbit down the dog and bone.

odanalysis 3y ago

Maybe it's because it is a [Hutch]ison product...

srmarm 3y ago

Rumbelows went bankrupt in 1995 apparently. I was a kids and it sticks in my mind as I used to get my mum to take me into the electrical shops after school as a treat and they had a proper fire sale with everything being sold off cheap. I find those liquidation sales quite depressing now but at the time it stuck out as being really exciting and we got a stereo quite cheap.