"de rato en rato" meaning in Spanish

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "de rato en rato",
      "name": "es-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Spanish",
  "lang_code": "es",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Spanish entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "Every so often The Lord put his hand up his sleeve and brought out a cherry to eat, and without a care in the world, accidentally or on purpose, would drop another on the ground, which Saint Peter, without idleness, would bend down to scoop up and eat.",
          "ref": "1896, Ricardo Palma, Tradiciones peruanas - Octava serie:",
          "text": "El Señor, de rato en rato, metía la mano en la manga y llevaba a la boca una cereza; y como quien no quiere la cosa, al descuido y con cuidado dejaba caer otra, que San Pedro sin hacerse el remolón se agachaba a recoger, engulléndosela en el acto.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "from time to time; every now and again"
      ],
      "id": "en-de_rato_en_rato-es-adv-ol4YExlv",
      "links": [
        [
          "from time to time",
          "from time to time"
        ],
        [
          "every now and again",
          "every now and again"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) from time to time; every now and again"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "de cuando en cuando"
        },
        {
          "word": "de vez en cuando"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "de rato en rato"
}

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "de rato en rato",
      "name": "es-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Spanish",
  "lang_code": "es",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Spanish adverbs",
        "Spanish entries with incorrect language header",
        "Spanish idioms",
        "Spanish lemmas",
        "Spanish multiword terms",
        "Spanish terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "Every so often The Lord put his hand up his sleeve and brought out a cherry to eat, and without a care in the world, accidentally or on purpose, would drop another on the ground, which Saint Peter, without idleness, would bend down to scoop up and eat.",
          "ref": "1896, Ricardo Palma, Tradiciones peruanas - Octava serie:",
          "text": "El Señor, de rato en rato, metía la mano en la manga y llevaba a la boca una cereza; y como quien no quiere la cosa, al descuido y con cuidado dejaba caer otra, que San Pedro sin hacerse el remolón se agachaba a recoger, engulléndosela en el acto.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "from time to time; every now and again"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "from time to time",
          "from time to time"
        ],
        [
          "every now and again",
          "every now and again"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) from time to time; every now and again"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "de cuando en cuando"
        },
        {
          "word": "de vez en cuando"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "de rato en rato"
}