wringer
wringer Lexical Profile
wringer Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A severe, exhausting, or stressful ordeal or examination (used chiefly in the phrase 'put through the wringer').
"The defense attorney put the key witness through the wringer during three hours of cross-examination."
A device consisting of two closely set rollers between which wet laundry or a mop is passed to squeeze out excess water.
"She cranked the wet bedsheets through the wringer before hanging them on the clothesline to dry."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'wringer' (a device for squeezing water from cloth, or an exhausting ordeal, as in 'put through the wringer') with the homophone 'ringer' (a bell ringer, a horseshoe throw, or a 'dead ringer' look-alike).
• Rhymes for wringer
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English from the verb 'wring' (from Old English 'wringan', meaning to twist or squeeze) plus the agentive and instrumental suffix '-er'.