Ringoism

R1I1N1G2O1I1S1M3

noun

A malapropism from Ringo Starr, drummer of the Beatles.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounRingoism (plural Ringoisms)

plural Ringoisms

  1. A malapropism from Ringo Starr, drummer of the Beatles.

    I had used it in In His Own Write, but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo Starr, one of those malapropisms – a Ringoism – said not to be funny, just said. So Dick Leser said, ‘We are going to use that title,’ and the next morning I brought in the song. — John Lennon

    3 more examples

    "Eight Days a Week" offers yet another example of a purported “Ringoism.” Credited as the originator of various malapropisms like some kind of rock ’n’ roll Yogi Berra. ... his well-known—and correctly attributed—title for Revolver’s “Tomorrow Never Knows” has promoted his biographers to toast him as pop music’s King Malaprop with broad, uncritical strokes ...

    2016 November 21, Womack, Kenneth, The Beatles Encyclopedia Everything Fab Four

    Ringo is talking about their having yet another ‘hard day’s night’. ‘What does that mean?’ a young woman asks. ‘It’s a Ringoism,’ John explains, ‘said not to be funny, just said.

    2020, Patterson, James, The Last Days of John Lennon

    The title is a classic “Ringoism,” as John Lennon used to refer to his malapropisms, an unusual phrase ripped from the same mind that came up with “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Assigning profundity to it came later.

    2023 September 28, Maria Sherman, The Associated Press, City News Everywhere

Origin

From Ringo + -ism, coined by bandmate John Lennon.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Ringoism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ringoism

MLA

“Ringoism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ringoism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ringoism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ringoism.

Source: Ringoism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.