brass ring
2
7.4
- noun
- Informal
- "We're going for the brass ring now," Ken said.
- grab the brass ring
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Watch on YouTubeThen you matriculate to the boss and you're patient because what you're building are relationships, not going for the brass ring each time.
- Then you matriculate to the boss and you're patient because what you're building are relationships, not going for the brass ring each time.
Examples
-
It appeared the brass ring was within his grasp.
Academic text (2003) -
This fall, I desire to grab the brass ring of creating a home that is a nest and sanctuary for me and my family.
Blog text (13) -
In the comments below, tell me: What brass rings do you want to grab for yourself this fall?
Blog text (13) -
Boot Camp is not for a woman who wants to spend her life watching others capture the brass ring.
Blog text (13) -
They're just trying to grab the brass ring like everyone else.
Fiction book (1992) -
Society holds out the proverbial brass ring of having it all.
Fiction book (1992) -
I think some people just get blinded by the glow of the brass ring.
Blog text (8) -
We've got to start meeting ourselves where we are as women rather than eyeing some brass ring of ideals.
Blog text (13) -
In reaching for the brass ring, sometimes leaders forget, as one of the sayings apocryphally attributed to Yogi Berra observes: the future is always coming.
Blog text (18) -
In life, you must seize the brass ring if you want to achieve your dreams.
Synonyms
18
3.2
A rare chance to do something important
5
4.1
A reward that someone hopes to get but finds hard to reach
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'an opportunity for success or a sought-after prize' does not follow transparently from 'brass' (a metal) + 'ring' (a circular object). The idiomatic meaning comes from a cultural practice (grabbing a brass ring on a carousel) and is not predictable from the literal constituents, so a B1 learner who only knows the component words would not reliably infer this sense.
Etymology
The idiom brass ring comes from old merry-go-rounds where riders reached out to grab a shiny brass ring on a pole, and catching it often won a free ride. So, to 'grab the brass ring' today means to take a special chance to get 'success' or a 'prize'.