bullringn.
/ˈbʊlrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈbʊlˌrɪŋ/ 1. † c. U.S. In various figurative expressions referring to subjection of a person to (typically rough or summary) justice, or to a trial or test, esp. to bring (up) to the bullring. Obsolete.In later use perhaps influenced by sense 3.
a. A ring fixed in a public place, to which a bull may be fastened for bull-baiting. Also: a place where bulls are baited (often persisting as a name for the location in certain towns long after bull-baiting ceased to take place there). Now historical.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting or baiting animals > animal baiting > [noun] > bull-baiting > place
bullring1577
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande f. 10v/1 in R. Holinshed Chron. I He is termed the Mayor of the Bull ring, of an Iron ring that sticketh in the corne market, to which the bulles, that are yearely bayted, be vsuallye tyed.
1609 D. Rogers in Digby Myst. (1882) App. p. xvi He caused..The bull ringe at the high crosse to be taken vp.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. x. 440 The said bull is then brought to the Bayliffs house in Tutbury, and there coller'd and roap't, and so brought to the Bull-ring in the high-street, and there baited with doggs.
a1733 H. Bourne Hist. Newcastle (1736) x. 126 I must by no Means omit the Effigies of King James II. which stood here, as I have been told, on that Side of the Bull-ring next the Court-stairs.
?1737 B. Parker Journey thro' World sig. M4 (advt.) Books printed by, and for T. Warren, and Sold at his Shop in the Bull-Ring, Birmingham.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 66 A poor mastiff that had misbehaved in the bull-ring.
1894 Notes & Queries 7 Apr. 266/1 There were three bull-rings in the town [of Bridgnorth].
1963 E. P. Thompson Making of Eng. Working Class (1964) xii. 412 The Methodist chapel at Todmorden, built on the site of the old bull-ring.
2004 H. Peach Curious Tales Old N. Yorks. x. 107 A number of bull rings, where the animals were tethered for baiting, are still in situ—at Askrigg in the cobbles by the market cross; Grassington Square; and Ingleton village square.
b. A similar fixed ring, typically in a jail, to which a person may be fastened in order for punishment to be administered, or as a punishment or torture in itself. Now rare (chiefly U.S. in later use).
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1726 L. Hill Appeal to Justice 7 They were immediately chained down to a Bull-Ring in the Common Goal [sic].
1795 J. Swanwick Rub from Snub 14 Your mirth seems as inconsistent as though you were to laugh at a cat of nine tails..scourged into your hide when you were hauled up to the bull-ring.
1838 3rd Rep. Inspectors Prisons II. 87 in Parl. Papers XXXI. 1 There were two gipsies here very refractory; they were put the first night to the bull ring.
1882 Hist. Warren County (Ohio) 767 He was then taken..to the State Penitentiary at Raleigh, S. C., where, with twelve others, he was fastened to the ‘Bull-ring’.
1907 B. Whitlock Turn of Balance xx. 311 At morning guards came, raised Archie, lifted him up, and chained his wrists to the bull rings.
1938 G. R. Scott Hist. Corporal Punishment xiv. 171 They beat him from head to foot with ‘sanded’ paddles; they used the bull rings and the ‘water cure’. But they could not break him.
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1799 Narr. P. Lyon 70 If a poor man is indebted, he is summoned and brought in triumph (to use a vulgar though common phrase) up to the bull-ring.
1828 Richmond (Va.) Enquirer 30 Sept. He is firmly persuaded that Mr. Adams stands no chance of getting Virginia, or of securing his re-election; and so thinking, he is willing to go to the bull ring and hazard himself upon the event.
1861 J. B. Gough Orations 215 When I began to lecture, one of them made use of the expression, ‘Damn you, we will bring your nose down to the bull-ring yet, you cold-water blackguard.’
1902 Daily Express (Defiance, Ohio) 13 Jan. They were not defeated for election, but they were brought down to the bull ring pretty close.
2. An arena where bullfights are held.Esp. with reference to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. Cf. plaza de toros n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting or baiting animals > bullfighting or bullfight > [noun] > arena
list1672
plaza de toros1807
circus1812
bullring1824
1824 B. Hall in London Mag. Sept. 234/2 A Chilian gentleman of my acquaintance lived close to the bull-ring.
1836 T. Roscoe Tourist in Spain: Andalusia vi. 183 The arena, or bull-ring, is a kind of amphitheatre, round which are placed twelve rows of seats.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 789/2 Before the introduction of railways there were comparatively few bull-rings (plazas de toros) in Spain.
1955 People (Austral.) 11 Jan. 20/2 In Mexico the girls are invading the bullrings. Pretty matadoras with flashing swords and whirling red capes are taking much of the limelight.
2009 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 27 Sept. (Herald-Times ed.) e2 (caption) A ‘recortador’ jumps over a bull during a bull leaping contest at the Plaza Monumental bullring Friday in Barcelona, Spain.
3. slang. Any of various areas or enclosures for the administering of discipline, the infliction of punishment, or other harsh treatment, such as a military training or drilling ground, an exercise yard, a room for the punishment of prisoners, etc.
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1838 Sydney Monitor 15 June It is quite a matter of course upon asking at the P. O. [= police office] of a morning if the F. P. M. [= Force Provost Marshal] has arrived, to receive for answer, ‘Oh! yes, but he is amusing himself in the Bull Ring.’
1864 R. G. Carter Four Brothers in Blue 481 Among the institutions at City Point was the ‘bull ring’, in which were confined deserters and the worst characters being continually sifted from the army.
1879 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 20 Dec. 11/3 He..having let himself down into the ‘bull-ring’ [of the prison], was engaged in sawing one of the half-inch iron bars of the window.
1916 Daily Mail 5 Sept. 4/5 Your first few days in France will be spent in the Bull Ring, where grim combat is daily waged between discipline and efficiency and their lack.
1949 E. de Mauny Huntsman in Career i. i. 13 Drawing equipment at the Q.M., drilling on the bull-ring.
1996 Atlanta (Georgia) Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 1 Feb. 6 m He accumulated his share of demerits for petty things like collar not buttoned, late to reveille, talking in ranks, etc., and he walked tours on the ‘bull ring’ as punishment.
4. Originally: a nose-ring for a bull, generally installed through a piercing in the nasal septum. Later also: a large ring-shaped ornament worn by a person through a piercing in the nose.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > nose-ring
ringa1398
staple1688
nose-ring1778
bullring1850
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > nose and lip ornaments > [noun]
nose-jewel1611
nose-ring1652
nose-ornament1695
lip-piece1796
labret1831
nose-nail1862
lip-ring1866
labretifery1884
lip-plug1894
bullring1992
1850 New Eng. Farmer 28 Sept. 321/1 The bull ring is made very neatly. It opens on a hinge, and is fastened with a screw... This ring is easily inserted into the nose of the bull, by punching the cartilage between the nostrils.
1899 Defiance (Ohio) Weekly Express 19 Oct. 'Twould be an easy matter to put a bull-ring in his nose and lead him around like they did poor old Wes. Barney.
1924 West Bend (Iowa) Jrnl. 3 Jan. A simpler plan is to put a bull ring in the cow's nose and hang another ring from the first one.
1992 Esquire July 60/1 A large bullring is riveted through the center post of his nostrils.
2013 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 Apr. (T Style Mag.) 80/3 (caption) At Tisci's spring 2012 haute couture collection, models wore bull rings in their noses.
5. U.S. slang. A short circular or oval track; (originally) one used for training or racing horses; (later) one used for various kinds of motor racing.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > racecourse > [noun] > specific type
training course1822
slow track1841
fast track1859
straightaway1878
bullring1897
paceway1978
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > motor racing > [noun] > course or track
autodrome1901
motordrome1908
speedway1925
strip1941
bullring1970
1897 Carroll (Iowa) Sentinel 30 Dec. The bull ring is the circular track upon which the horses are exercised when there is not much doing around the post in the way of drills on account of inclement weather. Every cavalry post has its bull ring.
1951 Long Beach (Calif.) Independent 13 Sept. 25 a/1 Things were humming around this half-mile bullring today as horsemen honed their thoroughbred charges for the opening of the 14-day Los Angeles County Fair race meeting Friday.
1970 Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland) 26 Feb. 24/5 The guy who puts out anywhere from three bucks a head to as much as $50 to see an auto race on anything from a quarter-mile, dirt bull-ring to a two and a half mile super-speedway.
2010 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 22 Mar. b3/5 The four-time defending NASCAR champion could never get a handle on the .533-mile bullring, where he struggled far more than he ever succeeded.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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