ringer
pronunciation
How to pronounce ringer in British English:
UK [ˈrɪŋə(r)]
How to pronounce ringer in American English:
US [ˈrɪŋɚ]
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- Noun:
- a person who rings church bells (as for summoning the congregation)
- a person who is almost identical to another
- a contestant entered in a competition under false pretenses
- (horseshoes) the successful throw of a horseshoe or quoit so as to encircle a stake or peg
Word Origin
- ringer (n.)
- early 15c., "one who rings" (a bell), agent noun from ring (v.1). In quoits (and by extension, horseshoes) from 1863, from ring (v.2). Especially in be a dead ringer for "resemble closely," 1891, from ringer, a fast horse entered fraudulently in a race in place of a slow one (the verb to ring in this sense is attested from 1812), possibly from British ring in "substitute, exchange," via ring the changes, "substitute counterfeit money for good," a pun on ring the changes in the sense of play the regular series of variations in a peal of bells (1610s). Meaning "expert" is first recorded 1918, Australian slang, from earlier meaning "man who shears the most sheep per day" (1871).
Example
- 1. It 's the bell ringer from notre dame !
- 2. So how about I just turn the ringer off ?
- 3. Her brother is a dead ringer for tom cruise .
- 4. He 's a ringer for his father .
- 5. She takes after her mother . He 's a dead ringer of his father .