wringer
an apparatus or machine for squeezing liquid out of anything wet, such as a pair of rollers between which an article of wet clothing may be squeezed.
a painful, difficult, or tiring experience; ordeal: Their years-long disagreement was an emotional wringer that hurt them both deeply.
a person or thing that wrings: My father is a real worrier—a wringer of hands and a pacer of floors.
Idioms about wringer
through the wringer,
through acute suffering or hardship: He’s really been through the wringer with his child’s illness.A series of disasters put her family through the wringer financially.
through rigorous testing, examination, or trial: Our numbers have been run through the wringer every which way, and it still looks like some cuts will be needed.Keep an eye out for a full review once we put this racing bike through the wringer.
Origin of wringer
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use wringer in a sentence
"That was before the clothes-wringers came into use," growled the little man testily.
The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle | Wilmer M. ElyWe are in the market for two dozen Standard clothes wringers, and we should be glad to receive your lowest price on same.
Business English | Rose BuhligAfter this came the laundry with its wringers and mangles resembling brightly armoured monsters.
The Song of Songs | Hermann SudermannLaundry work on the farm was principally hand labor until the small power washers and wringers were invented.
Farm Mechanics | Herbert A. ShearerWhen loading centrifugal wringers, put the heavy pieces at the bottom of the basket.
Mechanical Devices in the Home | Edith Louise Allen
British Dictionary definitions for wringer
/ (ˈrɪŋə) /
another name for mangle 2 (def. 1)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with wringer
see under put through (the wringer).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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