Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An opportunity to achieve wealth or success; a prize or reward.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic, US Figuratively, a
prize orgoal . Often used with respect to employment goals e.g. promotion, better job, etc.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a rich opportunity or a prize
Etymologies
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Examples
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Raywestinms commented on the word brass ring
Brass Ring. When riding an old fashioned Merry-Go-Round, carousel, the rider could reach out to a device that held metal rings. The rider would catch one at a time with his index finger. Every 100 or so rings, a brass ring would show up. If you caught the "Brass Ring" you received a free ride. Thus, "going for the Brass Ring."
Regular steel rings were thrown at a canvas target to be retrieved and reloaded again. The practice ended with the advent of personal injury lawsuits for riders who fell off reaching for the brass ring and/or loss of too many index fingers. Also I imagine too many rings were stolen.
May 16, 2009
jodi commented on the word brass ring
Has a nice Wikipedia article.
August 19, 2011