brass ring

noun

, Informal.

1. wealth, success, or a prestigious position considered as a goal or prize:

   Few of those who reach for the brass ring of the Presidency achieve it.

2. the opportunity to try for such a prize.

Word History and Origins

Origin of brass ring¹

From the practice of picking a ring from a box while riding a merry-go-round: whoever selected a brass ring received a free ride

Idioms and Phrases

A chance to achieve wealth or success; a prize or reward. For example, “As a businessman he let the brass ring go by too many times. And it got him.” This quotation from the Boston Globe (July 31, 1995) refers to an executive who was forced to resign. The term comes from the practice of giving a free ride to the person who succeeded in picking a ring out of a box while riding a merry-go-round. [ Slang ; late 1800s]

Example Sentences

It seems like a brass ring so far in the future that it may not do much to create engagement or a great work environment today.

From Digiday

All that training, prep and focus leads to a final showdown and one last grab for the brass ring.

From TechCrunch

You strive so hard to get the brass ring that when you get there, it can be blinding.

From The Daily Beast

All in a day's workaholism for Leno, whose aggressiveness in reaching for the brass ring knows few if any bounds.

From The Daily Beast

If you get the brass ring Tuesday, I know you will both serve your guy well either way.

From The Daily Beast

Each end is turned into a scroll and then riveted or soldered to the base D and to the upper brass ring.

From Project Gutenberg

Iry put forth a small, dingy hand, adorned with a large, elaborate brass ring.

From Project Gutenberg

The taxi-cab driver held up a hand and tapped a brass ring on its third finger.

From Project Gutenberg

I was thankful to see a pretty iron bedstead with a brass ring and blue chintz hangings, instead of the four-poster I had dreaded.

From Project Gutenberg

They might better be engaged in brass-ring-snatching contests at the merry-go-rounds of public fairs.

From Project Gutenberg