See Also: wring(1)(dictionary)
wring(2)(dictionary)
wring(dictionary)
wring(dictionary)
Wring in - Poker(gambling)
wring-bolt(dictionary)

wring (iou)



wring verb. .
[Old English wringen = Old Saxon -wringan (Middle Low German, Dutch wringen), from West Germanic strong verb from base rel. to WRONG adjective.]
I. verb trans.
Squeeze or twist (something wet or juicy), so as to force out the liquid; spec. squeeze and twist (a wet garment etc.) in the hands or with a wringer so as to force out water. Freq. foll. by out. OE.
G. Huntington They were..scrubbing the clothes with soap..and then wringing them out. B. Chatwin He would wring out the sponge.
a. Extract (the moisture) from something wet (esp. wet clothes) by squeezing or by twisting; transf. force (tears) out of the eye or from a person. Usu. foll. by from, out (of). OE.
Evelyn A laundress wringing water out of a piece of linen. Goldsmith It is not a small distress that can wring tears from these old eyes. fig.: S. Brett The last drop of sentiment had been wrung from the occasion.
b. fig. Obtain (a thing) with effort or difficulty from a person; elicit or extract, esp. by pressure. Usu. foll. by from, out (of). ME.
G. Santayana A miser, grown rich on..miserable payments wrung from the poor. J. Davis Their leaders were able to wring concessions from..the rulers of Saudi Arabia. J. Dunn Female relations intent on cornering them and wringing from them a suitably doleful response.
Twist forcibly, wrench; esp. break (a person's or animal's neck) by twisting. Also, twist (esp. the mast of a ship) out of position. OE.
M. Dickens If he ever makes a pass at you, I'll wring his neck. W. Golding We have no topmasts..and a ship that has been badly wrung.
b. Contort, screw up, (the features etc.). ME.
c. Twist spirally, coil. L16.
a. Twist (the clasped hands or fingers) together, as a sign of distress. ME.
fig.: Business The City will..wring its hands when it sees what it's missed.
b. Clasp vigorously (a person's hand); press (a person) by the hand. M16.
Evelyn He wrung me by the hand.
Bring into a specified position or condition by twisting or wringing (foll. by down, up, etc.); put in or into a thing with a twisting movement. LME.
Rack with pain or anguish. Of a shoe: pinch. LME.
K. Mansfield His heart was wrung with such a spasm that he could have cried out. A. Fraser It was a scene which wrung all who witnessed it. Listener It will wring the withers and bring tears to the eyes of all their colleagues.
b. Subject to harassment or oppression. M16.
Strain or distort the meaning of; wrest. Now rare or obsolete. M16.
II. verb intrans.
Flow out under pressure; force a way out. ME-L16.
Writhe, twist; esp. (of the hands) clasp and twist together as a sign of distress. LME.
a. Twist the body in convulsive struggling. (Foll. by with, against.) L15.
fig.: V. Woolf I have strained and wrung at journalism and proof correction.
b. Writhe in or be racked by pain or anguish. L15.
wringing noun (a) the action of the verb, esp. the squeezing of water from a wet cloth; an instance of this; in pl., the water etc. which is wrung out; (b) a griping pain, esp. in the intestines; fig. a pang of remorse: ME.
wringing ppl adjective (a) (of hands) twisting together or wrung in distress;
wringing wet, so wet that water may be wrung out; (b) causing anguish: ME.