ringer1
/ˈrɪŋə
/noun
1 informal An athlete or horse fraudulently substituted for another in a competition or event: it was discovered that the winning horse was a ringer...
- But far from exposing Jeffy once they have discovered his secret, his fellow athletes decide to enlist the ringer in a bid to beat the arrogant champion.
- Hey, at least he spotted the ringers, which was more than Security did.
- It didn't take the Army long to figure out that they had a ringer in their midst.
1.1A motor vehicle whose identity has been fraudulently changed by the substitution of a different registration plate: the patrol was told the van was a ringer
1.2A highly proficient person brought in supplement a team or group: officials had packed the squad with ringers...
- With more teams popping up and ringers being fought over, some sort of order would have to be instituted.
- I don't really understand how Victory dropped the ball on this one, but I guess they needed to make a bit of money for once and thought it was time to bring in some ringers.
- In order to win a bet with the rival nuclear facility, he hires several professional baseball players as ringers.
2 (also dead ringer) informal A person or thing that looks very like another: he is a dead ringer for his late papa...
- Nils Hognestad as Desmond is a bit of a ringer for Prince William and manages an impressive degree of bumbling charisma.
- Farmiga, a ringer for a young Faye Dunaway, won an acting award at the close of the festival.
- Would his concentrated attention have anything to do with the fact that she is a striking brunette, considered by some to be a ringer for Monica Lewinsky?
3A person or device that rings something.In the distance, church bells rang out as a team of ringers sought perfection through incessant practise....
- The ringer is great - very loud and supplemented with a vibrate.
- It was used for gatherings of staff and family at Christmas and New Year, with traditional entertainments provided by the Ackworth mummers and parish hand-bell ringers.
4Australian /NZ A shearer with the highest tally of sheep shorn in a given period: Paddy had established himself as the ringer of the shed...
- Shearers are paid per sheep shorn and typically shear about 100 per day, although a top shearer or ‘ringer’ (the fastest shearer in the shed) can shear between about 200 and 300 a day.
Late 19th century: special use of dialect ringer 'something exceptionally good'
5Australian A stockman, especially one employed in droving: ringers on the seven stations branded 30,057 calves...
- I started as a ringer when I was 15 on Epsilon Station near Camerons Corner in Queenslands far south west.
Early 20th century: from ring 'turn (a group of cattle) back on itself, work as a drover'
Rhymes
ringer2
/ˈriNGər
/noun
1In certain games, a tossed object that encircles its intended target, in particular.
1.1A tossed horseshoe that encircles the stake: you never forget the sound of your first ringer
1.2A tossed quoit that encircles the peg.
2A game of marbles in which the target marbles are placed in the center of a circular area.