ring-a-ding
adjEtymology Imitative.
1
A rhyming phrase with no fixed meaning.
- And then he was totally unprepared for his ring-a-ding winner.1975, Forbes - Volume 116, Issues 7-12, page 17:
- So you didn't want to make a night of it with the ring-a-ding kid?1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Josh (Paul Rudd):
2 more examples
- Then the midnight rap about arson with his ring-a-ding attorney.2001, Jim Moore, Island of Ashes, page 136:
- The brittle bones grow colder now / And the wind begins to sting / As I grow old in the family / And it aint so ring-a-ding-ding.2004, Donald Cohen, Late Beginner, page 20:
2
In the style of the Rat Pack, especially Frank Sinatra.
- Drink played a large part in Sinatra's ring-a-ding arrogance.2002, John Lahr, Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles, page 76:
- Swanning into a supper club/casino with a dame on his arm, Robinson is Sammy Paradise (“Old Two Eyes himself”), a ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra type who flaunts his wealth and generosity with true king-of-the-world largesse.2016 March 18, Dennis Perkins, “Tim Robinson’s The Characters thrives in the 10-to-1 spot”, in The AV Club:
1 more example
- The tumbler he [ Dean Martin ] was clutching was filled with apple juice, not whiskey, and the King of Cool was fully aware the sold-out crowd was there to see him and his pals create some ring-a-ding-ding musical magic.2024 March 8, “A ring-a-ding salute to the Rat Pack”, in Thousand Oaks Acorn: