Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(a) (also wringer) the fastest and best shearer in a shed.

1871		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ in Cornhill Mag. XXIII. 85: The ‘Ringer’, or fastest shearer of the whole assembly.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 57: Jim [...] was trying to shear sheep and sheep with the ‘ringer’ of the shed.
1894		‘The “Ringer” of the Shed’ in N.Z. Observer 3 Feb. 17: Know the bloomin’ half of them would sooner I was dead / For the blanky, blanky ringer takes the cream of every ashed.
1899		H. Lawson ‘A Rough Shed’ in Roderick (1972) 462: I have fallen so far that it is beneath me to try to climb to the proud position of ‘ringer’ of the shed.
1904		L.M. Palmer-Archer Bush Honeymoon 62: We come to a standstill before the ringer of the shed. He has the highest tallies, and they call him ‘a pretty good shearer’.
1905		‘Another Fall of Rain’ in ‘Banjo’ Paterson Old Bush Songs 28: The wringer’s wrist won’t ache so much with pain.
1911		E.S. Sorenson Bush Cooks in Life in the Aus. Backblocks 91: Concerning fighting cooks the tales are legion. I remember one snag in a north-western (New South Wales) shed, who cooked abominably, but rendered his position tenable by punching the ringer, spreading out the shed pug, and knocking pieces off the wool-presser.
1926		J. Doone Timely Tips For New Australians 21: RINGER.—The quickest shearer of a gang.
1931		‘William Hatfield’ Sheepmates 197: One man, the ‘ringer’ of the shed, went away with more money earned in the three weeks than Atherton would draw for his year’s work.
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 64: Ringer came into use more than half a century ago, being applied to a shearer who could run rings round his fellow workers.
1946		A. Dorrington ‘Bush Tanqueray’ Twenty Great Aus. Stories 118: Anybody want to ’ear a song – a real blanky song without funny business? Ever ’eard ‘When Molly Marries the Ringer’?
1952		J. Cleary Sundowners 138: By the end of the day he wanted to be the ‘ringer’ shearer.
1960		(con. 1925) L. Masters Back-Country Tales 259: There is a new ringer (fastest shearer) at The Lakes.
1965		L. Haylen Big Red 118: Old Jack, big gun, ringer, top of the shed in his day.
1983		J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 128: It was during his third encore that Jeffrey spotted the big ringer [...] the young top shelf shearer.

(b) an expert; anything or anyone outstanding or superlative of its/their kind.

1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 16 Nov. 6/4: [of a fighting dog] She was a shade more bully about the muzzle than the dog, but a ringer on sight.
1891		H. Lawson ‘The God-Forgotten Election’ in Roderick (1967–9) I 110: If ye want to send a ringer to the commin Parly-mint.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 30 Sept. 1/5: She’s a little ringer.
1895		Truth (Sydney) 17 Feb. 6/2: [of a horse] Another ringer is the Abercorn-Tempe colt Toreador. Many good judges consider this fine colt the pick of the Handwick bunch.
1895		F.P. Dunne in Schaaf Mr Dooley’s Chicago (1977) 93: They had to sind f’r another kag. An’ that kag was a ringer.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 27 Jan. 13/1: Apparently there are some real ringers offering for the Bushman’s Contingent. One last week nearly fell down when asked if he was a bushman. ‘Why, dog-scratch-me,’ he said with a shriek of anguish, ‘I’m gidyah bred, straight from the Culgoa and no scalawag neither, but a right-down silvertail. Can I ride? why I rode a ZR filly last week until the hide came off with the saddle, and as for track, I’d track a bug to an aboriginal.’.
c.1905		J. Furphy Rigby’s Romance (1921) Ch. vii: 🌐 ’Spect you’re a bit o’ a ringer on Scripture?
1905		Sun. Times (Perth) 1 Oct. 9/8: ‘That Tottie’s a ringer.’ ‘No fear’.
1919		W.H. Downing Digger Dialects 42: ringer — (1) An expert.
1924		(con. WWI) A.G. Pretty Gloss. Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: ringer. An expert.
1930		K.S. Prichard Haxby’s Circus 179: One of the smartest ponies I ever handled [...] this chap’s a ringer all right.
1943		Baker ‘Influence of Amer. Sl. on Aus.’ in AS XVIII:4 256: With Americans a ringer is a double; here he is an expert.
1956		‘Toney Betts’ Across the Board 654: Daniel Lamorte also used the Anglo-Saxonized name of Dan Lamont. A ringer!
1965		J. Thompson Texas by the Tail (1994) 209: I’m a ringer, yes, but I’m the straightest player you’ll ever come up against.
1975		J. Carr Bad (1995) 112: He started spitting in their faces when they came around for the count [...] He coughed up a big yellow goober and scored a ringer.
1986		G.A. Wilkes Exploring Aus. Eng. 15: Other Australianisms derived from English dialect include damper [...] ringer (for someone who excels).

(a) (orig. US, also ringer-in, wringer) a fake; someone posing as a person they are not; esp. a pool or bowling hustler who pretends not to be an expert.

1850		‘Ned Buntline’ G’hals of N.Y. 235: He [...] performs the character of a ringer-in for Fred Ormsby, the handsome gambler, whose large splendid gaming establishment [...] has been the ruin of thousands of young men.
1890		Stock Grower and Farmer 9 Aug. 8/2: At the same time ‘Andy Croker’ is the most notorious ‘ringer’ on the turf [DA].
1906		S. Ford Shorty McCabe 78: First she has a kind of surprised look, as if a ringer had been sprung on her.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 44: Gracious! Is he a ringer, or the real thing?
1915		S. Ford Shorty McCabe on the Job 103: Might get ourselves disliked if we sprung a ringer on ’em that way.
1919		Van Loan ‘Piute vs. Piute’ Score by Innings (2004) 309: And there we were [...] It was two ringers against one.
1929		A.J. Barr Let Tomorrow Come 152: Was Regan a ringer or was ’e good?
1937		J. Tully Bruiser 38: A ‘ringer’ was a successful pugilist who used an assumed name and wagered money on himself against a less able bruiser.
1947		Newsweek 24 Nov. 60/3: As a ringer in the Sadie Hawkins race, she was last heard of pursuing a panic-stricken Dogpatcher [DA].
1959		(con. c.1915) G. Duffy Warden’s Wife 67: The warden couldn’t thrust aside the feeling that the prisoner was a ringer.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 815: ringer – Something or someone introduced into a game of chance or into a shady deal to give an unfair advantage; an accomplice.
1974		(con. 1960s) R. Price Wanderers 177: The two ringers walked in with three other guys who the Wanderers figured for bankrollers.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 139: The CID say the stone that got nicked out of your peter was a wringer. Any chance that one of your staff switched it?
1987		J. Maxwell q. in Firestone Swing, Swing, Swing 201: The first two or three people to get up and dance were ringers [i.e. professional dancers posing as members of the audience], and then the other kids started dancing spontaneously.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 395: True, all the other teams had one or two ringers — some of them as old as seventeen or eighteen — playing behind the birth certificates of younger boys.
2012		L. Jose ‘Underhooks’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] I want a proper fight. Not some ringer [...] I want someone who can beat me.
2017		D. Winslow The Force [ebook] The Fire Department has a ringer — a probie [...] who was the Big Ten champion in the mile.

(b) (also ring) a simulacrum; someone who looks exactly like another, also of an object.

1896		S. Crane ‘Diamonds & Diamonds’ in Stallman (1966) 176: ‘I want you to make me a ringer for this again.’ He handed the man the diamond ring.
1904		‘O. Henry’ Cabbages and Kings 198: Yes, the man was a ringer for the pictures of the fat Weary Willie in the funny papers.
1917		R. Lardner Gullible’s Travels 126: The bath-house porch was a ringer for the Follies.
1924		G. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 415: Ringer. A duplicate.
1934		D. Hammett ‘Two Sharp Knives’ Nightmare Town (2001) 175: Look— [...] that’s a ringer for the guy we got —.
1936		‘Banjo’ Paterson Shearer’s Colt 17: He’s the dead ring of that feller that’s wanted for the murder of the half-caste down at Leila Springs.
1942		N. Algren Never Come Morning (1988) 20: It’s a ringer the spooks been hidin’ in the back.
1956		‘Toney Betts’ Across the Board 290: A face so like Katherine Hepburn’s she could be a ringer for the actress.
1964		P. Highsmith Two Faces of January (1988) 117: A fortyish American I’ve encountered, who is a dead ringer for Papa at forty.
1978		P. Theroux Picture Palace 20: I almost fainted: it was my brother Orlando, a dead ringer.
1982		J. Sullivan ‘A Touch of Glass’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] Oh it’s a dead ringer Del, yeah, dead ringer!
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 14: A motheaten furtrimmed cape that made him a ringer for a thirdrate magician shooting for a comeback.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 158: He was a dead ringer for a young Satchmo.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We have No 132: A ringer for the young Bianca Jagger.
2000		Guardian Rev. 28 Jan. 22: The small, balding Jacques Villeret [...] is a dead ringer for Hollywood’s poison dwarf.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 48: He’s wearing a leather bomber jacket [...] a dead ringer for Renton’s.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 622: ‘He looks just like his dad. A ringer he is of you Captain Zir!’ said Bert.

(c) a horse or dog (occas. other animal) substituted either for a better or a worse animal for the purposes of those betting either for or against it; also attrib.

1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 24 Mar. 24/4: One of the M.L. horses selected to face the horrors of war is a noted ‘ringer,’ and was under official displeasure for some time ere voyaging.
1904		Wash. Post (DC) 14 Aug. 4/2: The operator of ringer No. 1 didn’t know anything about the scheme. The charterer of ringer No. 2 knew only about he frame-up of the man who was going to run ringer No. 1. But the fellow with ringer No. 3 knew all about the fix-it of both the others.
1929		V.W. Saul ‘Vocab. of Bums’ in AS IV:5 344: Ringers—Someone (or thing) slipped into a game to give an unfair advantage.
1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Ringer, a race horse who has been substituted under the name of another horse in a race.
1960		R.M. Rogers Long White Cloud 130: ‘Up against a ringer.’ Jeff nodded at Nevil’s horse. ‘We’ll make use of him.’.
1977		D. Powis Signs of Crime 199: Ringer [...] horses or greyhounds that had been [...] disguised.
1987		C. Hiaasen Double Whammy (1990) 14: Did you confront him about the ringer? [i.e. a fish].
1999		C. Dexter Remorseful Day (2000) 77: ‘What does “The Ringer” mean to you?’ [...] ‘It’s a horse that’s raced under the name of a different horse.’.
2006		C. Hiaasen Nature Girl 119: The redneck wrestlers thought it would be humorous to sneak a ringer into the gator pit.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 174: There were ringer cattle and sheep: Gower Browns were listed as Herefords; Scaristas as Shropshires.

(d) someone who illegally substitutes a horse or animal in a race.

1901		Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Aug. 24/2: But this won’t stop the unscrupulous ‘ringer,’ who imports Australian performers and runs them as maidens bought out of the pound, or from untraceable Maoris.
1904		Wash. Post (DC) 14 Aug. 4/1: Ringers are getting by all the time [...] the bookmakers bleat over these ringer killings.
1953		A.J. Liebling Honest Rainmaker (1991) 87: [note] Skillful horse-ringers do not usually resort to the paintbrush.
1956		‘Toney Betts’ Across the Board 154: Then he dug up an old skeleton ... ringers! ... good horses painted up to look like bad horses.
1970		R. Fabian Anatomy of Crime 194: Ringer: Car (or horse) ringer [...] substituting horses in races.

(e) one who uses a number of disguises (of themselves and their cars) during the committing of a crime.

1941

V. Davis Phenomena in Crime 143: There are four convicts at present in Dartmoor known as the ‘Ringers’, and they were quite artists in the use of disguise. In addition to using more than one car to take them to do a ‘job’ they made changes of clothing at various points and altered their faces with a touch of grease paint and false moustaches.

(f) (US und.) an outside expert brought in to provide their particular skill in a given situation.

1977

E. Torres Q&A 162: The gangs had outside guys like that in them days, guys that liked to rumble. Some of them used to come from as far as Long Island, like ringers.

(a) a second-hand car made up to look better than it is.

1995

J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 66: Did his business off ringers and a bit of protection, minicabs and take-aways.

(b) someone who specializes in stealing then improving second-hand cars for sale in the UK or Europe.

1970		‘Metropolitan Police Sl.’ in P. Laurie Scotland Yard (1972) 327: ringer, A: a car-thief who welds together parts of similar stolen cars to make it difficult to detect mongrels.
1980		J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 124: Some will even hope to sell it [i.e. a stolen car] whole to a ‘ringer’.
1997		N. Barlay Curvy Lovebox 123: Ringers burglars teefs filches dips and deedees.

(c) a false registration plate attached to a stolen motor vehicle; thus the thief who uses one, and the car itself.

1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 17: Blackie backed the car deftly into the barn and fixed the ‘ringers’, the false number-plates.
1970		R. Fabian Anatomy of Crime 194: Ringer: Car [...] ringer, concealing the identities of stolen cars.
1986		J. Campbell Gate Fever 163: The vehicle we had was what in the trade they call a ‘ringer’ – it was a stolen vehicle that had another number plate put on it.
2004		(con. 1990s) N. ‘Razor’ Smith A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun 369: The German’s other scam was the ringers. He had two very good car thieves [...] they would not only steal the car and park it up in a designated car-park, but they would also ‘plate’ it as well. ‘Plating’ is changing the number-plates.