A real dead ringer for love: Rings and ringers

Q. So we've found out what a dead ringer is, how about other kinds

A. There are a couple of other meanings:

1. In the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force - whose uniform and ranks derive more from the navy than the army - braided rings on the lower part of the uniform sleeve are used to denote rank. So a one-ringer - i.e. has one ring - is a sub-lieutenant (RN) or a flying officer (RAF); a two-ringer is a lieutenant or a flight lieutenant; a half-ringer - a narrow ring - is a warrant officer or a pilot officer; and a two-and-a-half-ringer - two wide rings with a narrow one in between - is a lieutenant commander or squadron leader.

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2. In racing - both animal and human - a ringer is a runner who enters a race by giving false information to get around entry requirements or one who pretends to be someone else.

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Q. And ring

A. The word has two derivations. First, in the sense of a 'circle' it comes directly from the Anglo-Saxon word for the same thing, hring. Second, in the sense making a clanging sound, it derives from the Anglo-Saxon verb hringan, to clash.

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Q. So, some examples of the first

A.

To make a ring - to join together with others in a cartel in order to control the price of a given article by fixing a selling price and thereby increasing profits for all.

Ring finger - traditionally the third finger of the left hand, the one used for wedding rings (although, until the end of the 16th century it was the right hand).

Ringleader - the prime mover in an enterprise or the leader of a mob or rabble. It used also to refer to the person who leads off a dance.

Ring a ring o' roses - from the nursery rhyme which may - although some authorities dispute this - refer to the sneezing which often occurred as a symptom of bubonic plague; hence 'Atishoo! Atishoo! / We all fall down'.

Ring posies or ring mottoes - loving (usually) inscriptions on the inside of rings, such as 'When this you see, / Then think of me'. They were pretty common between the16th and 18th centuries.

A ring - in the arts, a cycle of plays or operas (Wagner's Ring Cycle, for example) or tales.

The Ring - in sporting terminology this is used to denote the arena marked out for boxing and wrestling matches - though at one stage it meant specifically 'The Ring' in Blackfriars Road, south London, which was a hall for prize fights - as well as the area where horses are shown off before a race so that the punters can get a look at what they are risking their money on. All these are so called because the spectators stand around in a ring.

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Q. And the second

A.

To ring a bell - to remind one of something or to sound familiar

It rings true - to appear true. This metaphor comes from the custom of judging genuine coinage by its 'ring' or sound.

To ring up the curtain - to start something new. Originally a theatrical phrase, alluding to the custom of ringing a bell to give notice for the rise of the curtain. So, to ring down - to conclude, end at once.

Ring someone up - to telephone. After the sound of the bells on old phones.

To ring the bells backwards - to ring a muffled peal on church bells, usually at funeral or sombre occasion. The saying arises from the older tradition of playing the peals the wrong way round in times of sorrow or danger.

To ring the changes - another campanologically rooted phrase, meaning to repeat the same thing in a different way, although more recently it has acquired the added meaning of to announce change.

To ring one's own bell - to be a self-publicist.

To ring in - to welcome the New Year by ringing church bells.

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Q. And wring

A. Nothing to do with either. From the Anglo-Saxon wringan, to wrong, it means to squeeze.

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By Simon Smith