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"have a hollow ring"

Posted by R. Berg on October 30, 2003

In Reply to: What is the meaning of "have a hollow ring (to)"? posted by Bruce Kahl on October 29, 2003

: : what is the meaning of "have a hollow ring (to)"?

: People use that expression when they feel that something is not being expressed honestly.
: For instance, we here in the US have an idiot and liar for a president.
: Most, if not all, his and his fellow gangster/cabinet members' utterances, statements and opinions have a hollow ring to them.

I'm guessing that the phrase came from a comparison with counterfeit coins that sounded different from real coins when rapped on something solid because they had empty middles where gold or another valuable metal should have been.

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