Example: We went down a rabbit hole while exploring old stories online.
Definition
"To go down a rabbit hole" means to become deeply involved in a complex, confusing, or engrossing situation or topic, often leading to unexpected or time-consuming discoveries. It is frequently used to describe getting absorbed in detailed exploration, like researching or investigating something intensively.
Translations
perderse en detalles
zich verliezen in details
perdre's en detalls
s'engouffrer dans un sujet
im Kaninchenbau verschwinden
Etymology
The phrase "to go down a rabbit hole" originates from Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," where Alice literally falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastical world. Since then, it has been used metaphorically to describe entering a strange or complicated situation that leads to further exploration, often with unpredictable outcomes.
Learn to use this expression actively
"To go down a rabbit hole" appears in the Vocaplus list "English - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (C2) - set 1", containing 106 commonly used expressions.
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