wringer

[ ring-er ]

noun

1. an apparatus or machine for squeezing liquid out of anything wet, such as a pair of rollers between which an article of wet clothing may be squeezed.
2. a painful, difficult, or tiring experience; ordeal:

   Their years-long disagreement was an emotional wringer that hurt them both deeply.

3. a person or thing that wrings:

   My father is a real worrier—a wringer of hands and a pacer of floors.

wringer

/ ˈrɪŋə /

noun

1. See mangle
   another name for mangle 2

Word History and Origins

Origin of wringer¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; wring ( def ) + -er ¹( def )

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. through the wringer,
   1. through acute suffering or hardship:

      He’s really been through the wringer with his child’s illness.

      A series of disasters put her family through the wringer financially.

   2. through rigorous testing, examination, or trial:

      Our numbers have been run through the wringer every which way, and it still looks like some cuts will be needed.

      Keep an eye out for a full review once we put this racing bike through the wringer.

More idioms and phrases containing wringer

see under put through (the wringer) .

Example Sentences

Our testers put these clothes through the wringer, from northern Wisconsin and the southwestern desert to the frozen Alaskan interior.

From Outside Online

Youth sports in America have been put through the wringer amid the pandemic, and while accessibility and participation are starting to rebound, there's still work to be done.

From Axios

The industry he now represents is being put through the wringer.

From Digiday

So I recruited six women to put the current crop of overshorts through the wringer.

From Outside Online

More tips Return to top Parents, you have been through the wringer this year.

From Washington Post

He degraded her and he really put her through the wringer, but she survived that and stayed with him anyway.

From The Daily Beast

I was angry that good people were run through the wringer of a corrupt, unforgiving system.

From The Daily Beast

But then again, he would probably not want to go through the wringer a second time.

From The Daily Beast

Put a man on a pedestal and suddenly it's hard for the press to drag him through the political wringer.

From The Daily Beast

Before he had reached the age of five, he nearly lost a finger in trying to discover how his mother's clothes-wringer worked.

From Project Gutenberg

Don't wring the curtains with your hands simply squeeze them or put them gently through the wringer.

From Project Gutenberg

"I didn't get it on trial, like a wash-wringer," retorted the Colonel.

From Project Gutenberg

Judging from his looks, he might have been run through a wringer.

From Project Gutenberg

Know how to use soap and starch, how to soften hard water, and how to use a wringer or mangle.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inquiry
• investigation
• query
• questioning