brass ring

English

A woman grabbing a brass ring at a carnival

Etymology

Some fairground carousels offer a prize to a rider who manages to grab a brass ring.

Noun

brass ring (plural brass rings)

1. (US) A prize or goal, often a chance to advance in one's career.

   He's going for the brass ring.

   • 1962 March 11, James Reston, “Another Kennedy Reaches for the Brass Ring”, in New York Times‎^[1], page 8E:

     Another Kennedy Reaches for the Brass Ring [title] The latest entry in the political Irish sweepstakes is Teddy Kennedy, the President's 30-year-old brother.

   • 1967, Bob Gaudio, Peggy Farina (lyrics and music), “Beggin'”, performed by The Four Seasons:

     I'm holdin' on / I can't fall back / Now that big brass ring / Is a shade of black

   • 1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:

     As a perversion of freedom it was, like any perversion, erotic; as alienation it carried the frisson of having just missed the brass ring, a sensation that always brought one back for more.

   • 2019, Kelly D. Harrison, Air Force Cop: An Autobiography, page 100:

     The one thing considered the brass ring in selling insurance was making a sale on a cold canvass. Cold canvassing was the most dreaded exercise for most insurance salesmen.

Further reading

• brass ring on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Brass ring”, in World Wide Words.