ding-dong
/ˈdɪŋdɒŋ
/ /dɪŋˈdɒŋ /noun informal
1 [in singular] British A fierce argument or fight: they had a bit of a ding-dong...
- In June there was a bit of a ding-dong when it turned out that thousands of customers were still waiting for their upgrade for the company's workstations.
- The team-mates, who played in the same position, then had a bit of a ding-dong.
- It's not a full-blown ding-dong, but a mid-level verbal skirmish, the sort of thing that lies behind many a loving relationship.
2 dated A riotous party.The moment Portsmouth clinched promotion to the Premiership at the end of last season, football supporters started positively salivating at the prospect of some good old, traditional south coast ding-dongs....
- I suspect that presidential-style debates will irritate many viewers, especially those who are touchy about seeing the schedules knocked around to accommodate vote-for-me ding-dongs.
3North American A silly or foolish person.After all, who else deserves public recognition for dealing with those ding-alings, dingbats, and ding-dongs who dial you for answers to really dumb questions.
adverb & adjective
1With the simple alternate chimes of or as of a bell: [as adverb]: the church bells go ding-dong [as adjective]: he heard the ding-dong tones on the aircraft
1.1 [as adverb] British Energetically or wildly: her biological clock is going ding-dong
2 [as adjective] British informal (Of a contest) evenly matched and hard fought: the game was an exciting ding-dong battle...
- An incredible ding-dong match - the lead changed hands seven times - played out in front of full, noisy stands showed that rugby league was back in York with a bang louder than the fireworks that greeted the players.
- Three hundred and ten riders, representing 31 nations, are entered across the three disciplines, with cross country arguably offering spectators the best prospect of a ding-dong battle among the leaders.
- In the first-half, it was hardly a see-saw, ding-dong cup battle - City's excellently organised defence and master-plan saw to that - but it was intriguing all the same.
Origin
Mid 16th century: imitative.