to ring the gong
1
6.3
- phrasal verb
:
tocar el gong
- You need to ring the gong at noon to mark the end of the lunch break.
Examples
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Before the game began, the official stood up to ring the gong and signal the players.
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At the opening ceremony, the host will ring the gong to announce the start of the event.
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Time to ring the gong.
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Time to ring the gong!
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Because if my dad didn't ring the gong, we'd all be in the dark.
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But if I don't ring the gong, I'm not the gong ringer.
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She didn't come to luncheon when you rang the gong.
Synonyms
1
7.7
To hit a metal instrument so it makes a loud ringing sound
How Loud
1
6.3
22
1.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derived from the verb 'ring' (to produce a ringing sound) applied to the noun 'gong' (a resonant metal disc) — together they describe striking the gong to make it ring. This is a straightforward compositional action-object pattern common across languages and easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Ring the gong comes from the simple image of someone hitting a large metal plate, the gong, so it makes a loud sound that everyone can hear. So, saying someone will ring the gong means 'to signal' or 'to announce the start or end of an event'.