English

Noun

jackrabbit start ‎(plural jackrabbit starts)

1. A fast or quick start, as to a race.
   • 1937, Hayward Daily Review, May 8, 1937, Hayward, California

     Both are grand horses that did not know defeat However Admiral will have to make a jackrabbit start to get away ahead

   • 1941, "Ickes Widens Drive On 'Gas' Wasters", Washington Post, July 4, 1941

     Secretary of Interior Ickes' plan to conserve gasoline by arresting "jackrabbit start" drivers and operators of fume-belching autos, starting tomorrow,

   • 1993, Chicago Tribune (18 April), "Jackrabbit Start for Egg Hunt", Susan Kubian

     One little tyke had to be restrained from a jackrabbit start under the rope as his mother pulled him back, grabbing the hood of his jacket.

   • 1995, Robert Allen Palmatier, Speaking of Animals: A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors

     JACKRABBIT START ... The sudden acceleration of a motor vehicle from a standing stop. ... The analogy is to a jackrabbit (q.v.) leaping suddenly from cover and bounding quickly away when disturbed by a dog or a hunter.