Definition of "rat-a-tat" [rat-a-tat]

• A rattling sound or effect, as from the beating of a drum. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "Adapted in 1931 from a Broadway farce by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, this rat-a-tat yarn established the newspaper reporter as a rough-and-ready huckster, cousin to the Chicago bootlegger, always happy to break the rules to get the scoop."
• "Neither did his multi-nozzle flame thrower, even though he'd rigged it to rat-a-tat a catchy beat."
• "His delivery manages to be both distracted and pithy rather than rat-a-tat."