Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) ill-tempered, tetchy.

1928		C.E. Mulford Mesquite Jenkins 233: ‘All right. Don’t get ringy.’ ‘ — —!’ said Jim. ‘Ain’t no need to swear.’.
1938		B. Conlon ‘Rope Meat’ in Wild West Weekly 22 Oct. 🌐 The big ranny was as ringy as a worried steer.
1942		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl.
1955		R.P. Hobson Nothing too Good for Cowboy 187: We strung the long, snaky, trail herd past two holding grounds [...] to take some of the snoose out of the ringy Batnuni bunch [of cattle] .
1962		W. Stegner Wolf Willow III. i. 135: No Canadian steer would ever be angry or stubborn; he would be o’nery or ringy or on the prod .
1977		N.Y. Times 11 Jan. 20/1: He thought Miss Longet had been ‘ringy’ the day she shot and killed Mr. Sabich.