A brass ring is a small grabbable ring that a dispenser presents to a carousel rider during the course of a ride. Usually there are a large number of iron rings and one brass one, or just a few. It takes some dexterity to grab a ring from the dispenser as the carousel rotates. The iron rings can be tossed at a target as an amusement. Typically, getting the brass ring gets the rider some sort of prize when presented to the operator. The prize often is a free repeat ride.
The figurative phrase to grab the brass ring is derived from this device.
Brass ring devices were developed during the heyday of the carousel in the U.S.—about 1880 to 1921. At one time, the riders on the outside row of horses were often given a little challenge, perhaps as a way to draw interest or build excitement, more often as an enticement to sit on the outside row of horses which frequently did not move up and down and were therefore less enticing by themselves. Most rings were iron, but one or two per ride were made of brass; if a rider managed to grab a brass ring, it could be redeemed for a free ride.
References to a literal brass ring go back into the 1890s.[2]
As the carousel began to turn, rings were fed to one end of a wooden arm that was suspended above the riders. Riders hoped that the timing of the carousel rotation (and the rise-and-fall motion of their seat, when movable seats were included in the outer circle of the carousel) would place them within reach of the dispenser when a ring (and preferably a brass ring) was available.
Another system had mostly steel rings of no value and one brass ring, and a target into which the rings were to be thrown (for example the Santa Cruz Beach BoardwalkLooff Carousel uses a clown target shown in the photo above, and the Knoebel's Amusement Resort Grand Carousel uses a lion target),[3] discouraging retention of the rings as souvenirs.
Cultural references
"Grabbing the brass ring" or getting a "shot at the brass ring" also means striving for the highest prize (especially a championship ring in sports), or living life to the fullest. It is not clear when the phrase came into wide use but has been found in dictionaries as far back as the late 19th century.[4][5]
The term has been used as the title of at least two books.[6][7]
The final scene of The Catcher in the Rye features a carousel with a brass ring, which Holden Caulfield's sister Phoebe reaches for. The brass ring is symbolic of adulthood, the transition to which is a preoccupation of Holden throughout the book.
The Four Seasons song "Beggin'" references "now that big brass ring is a shade of black", in reference to having missed an important opportunity.
Dispatch song “Flying Horses” references stealing a ring from The Flying Horses Merry Go Round located in Martha’s Vineyard Massachusetts.
The Barenaked Ladies song "Get Back Up" references "getting fitted for a new brass ring", in reference to continuing to strive for success.
At the climax of the film Sneakers, all of the main characters have the opportunity to receive anything they want in exchange for handing over a crucial piece of technology to the NSA. When River Phoenix's character requests something with no monetary value, he is admonished by Robert Redford's character to think bigger, as "this is the brass ring."
In the big blowup argument in the film Fools Rush In, the main character, Alex Whitman, says, "Look, this is the brass ring. I've worked my entire life for this kind of opportunity and I am not gonna throw it all away just because one night I put a five-dollar ring on your finger in front of Elvis as a witness!"
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) presents "Brass Ring Awards" annually, to recognize achievement in the global attractions industry and to "honor excellence in food and beverage, games and retail, human resources, live entertainment, marketing, new products, and exhibits."[8]
The Grateful Dead song "Crazy Fingers" includes the lyrics "Midnight on a carousel ride / Reaching for the gold ring down inside," in which the brass ring is called a "gold ring" by means of poetic license.
The American Music Club song "If I Had a Hammer" (from the Mercury album) includes the lyrics "The love cry of the traveling man goes / "No one knows who I am, / but I'm as priceless as a brass ring / that's losing the heat from your hand."..."
Brass ring carousels today
Although there are many carousels extant, only a handful of carousels still have brass rings.[9]
Vintage (pre-1960) carousels still operating with brass rings
Original carousel mechanism was built in the 1890s and installed in Elmira in 1924. The original animals were auctioned in 1989, and replacement antique horses were acquired starting in 2003.
Bushkill Park was closed in 2007 after being flooded in 2004, 2005, and 2006; the carousel building collapsed in 2014.[10][11] Two carousels have operated at Bushkill: the first was built in 1903, installed in the 1930s, but closed in 1989 and sold in 1991. A replacement carousel built in 1915 was installed in 1993.[12][13] Other sources indicate the original Dentzel carousel was sold to the Centreville Amusement Park in Toronto Islands in 1966.[14]
The carousel, owned by the Wintersteen family and known as the "Wintersteen Menagerie Machine", was up for auction in 2008 and is closed. It was originally installed at Hanson's Amusement Park in Harveys Lake, PA.[17][18]
The carousel ran brass rings until Euclid Beach Park closed in 1969, and the carousel was sold and moved to Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. After Palace Playland was sold in 1996, the carousel was bought and moved back to Cleveland, ultimately to be owned by the Western Reserve Historical Society. In 2014 the carousel was reopened to the public at the Cleveland History Center, having been extensively restored, but no longer running rings.
^From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of 24 September 1899 about the famous Coney Island amusement park:
"This big place has been the rendezvous for thousands of children who have spent their nickels and have enjoyed a ride on the ponies, besides trying their best to capture the brass ring, which the boy drops in the big iron arm that is swung out at the side of the merry-go-round."
"Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate defines the metaphor and dates it to 1950. Christine Ammer's The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms says it's from the late 1800s."
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