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Synonyms

ding-a-ling

American  
[ding-uh-ling] / ˈdɪŋ əˌlɪŋ /

noun

Slang.

  1. a stupid, foolish, or eccentric person.

Etymology

Origin of ding-a-ling

First recorded in 1930–35; rhyming compound imitative of a bell

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.

But today's punk rockers have no time for euphemisms like Chuck Berry's "ding-a-ling."

From Time Magazine Archive

I can’t believe the charade has gone on this long, with Mister Johnny knowing about me, and Miss Celia walking around like a ding-a-ling, like she’s still pulling her trick.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Mrs. Parrott was wearing her new ding-a-ling hat, grass-green in color, which, topping off the moss-colored serge which, closely fitting her attenuated figure, gave Mrs. Parrott a surprising resemblance to a katydid about to jump.

From The Lady Doc by Lockhart, Caroline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.