ring-a-ding

Imitative.

ring-a-ding

1. A ringing sound.

   Synonyms: ringaling, tingaling

ring-a-ding (not comparable)

1. A rhyming phrase with no fixed meaning.
   • 1975, Forbes - Volume 116, Issues 7-12, page 17:

     And then he was totally unprepared for his ring-a-ding winner.

   • 1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Josh (Paul Rudd):

     So you didn't want to make a night of it with the ring-a-ding kid?

   • 2001, Jim Moore, Island of Ashes, page 136:

     Then the midnight rap about arson with his ring-a-ding attorney.

   • 2004, Donald Cohen, Late Beginner, page 20:

     The brittle bones grow colder now / And the wind begins to sting / As I grow old in the family / And it aint so ring-a-ding-ding.

2. In the style of the Rat Pack, especially Frank Sinatra.
   • 2002, John Lahr, Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles, page 76:

     Drink played a large part in Sinatra's ring-a-ding arrogance.

   • 2016 March 18, Dennis Perkins, “Tim Robinson’s The Characters thrives in the 10-to-1 spot”, in The AV Club‎^[1]:

     Swanning into a supper club/casino with a dame on his arm, Robinson is Sammy Paradise (“Old Two Eyes himself”), a ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra type who flaunts his wealth and generosity with true king-of-the-world largesse.

   • 2024 March 8, “A ring-a-ding salute to the Rat Pack”, in Thousand Oaks Acorn‎^[2]:

     The tumbler he [ Dean Martin ] was clutching was filled with apple juice, not whiskey, and the King of Cool was fully aware the sold-out crowd was there to see him and his pals create some ring-a-ding-ding musical magic.

• ringding
• ring-a-ding-ding

• “ring-a-ding adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present