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have a familiar ring

Idioms  
  1. Sound or seem as though one has already heard of something. For example, That story has a familiar ring; I'm sure I've read it before.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As I noted last year, “claims about nitrogen hypoxia have a familiar ring to them. Over the past century and a quarter, we have heard similar claims made about other ‘innovative’ execution methods, first electrocution, then the gas chamber, and, finally, lethal injection.”

From Slate

He deftly captures how the environment is both enchanting and fearsome, and though his set pieces have a familiar ring — bar fights! dangerous animals! — he focuses more on what’s troubling his characters than overselling some myth of rough-and-ready swagger.

From Los Angeles Times

For Banaei at Chainalysis, the troubles that Russians are encountering now have a familiar ring to them — his own family left Iran after the Iranian revolution.

From The Verge

The business has a traditional enough feel: there are white tiles, a picture of a pig wearing an apron and the names of the products behind the glass counter have a familiar ring: mince, brisket, ribs, chicken thighs, cured pastrami, salami, kebab meat, black pudding, quarter pounder burgers and glazed belly pork.

From BBC

Though many of these killings have a familiar ring, it is unfair to blame them all on law enforcement, said Patrick Yoes, a retired sheriff’s office captain and president of the national Fraternal Order of Police.

From New York Times