put (one's) hat in(to) the ring
(redirected from put your hat in the ring)put (one's) hat in(to) the ring
To announce or make known one's intention to compete with others, especially in a political election. I'm thinking about putting my hat in the ring for class president! As has been widely predicted, the governor put his hat into the ring yesterday for the upcoming presidential election.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hat in the ring, to put/throw one's
To enter a contest; to become a candidate in an election. This expression comes from boxing, where in the early nineteenth century the practice of throwing one’s hat into the ring indicated a challenge. “Throw in his hat, and with a spring get gallantly within the ring,” wrote John Hamilton Reynolds (The Fancy, 1820). Later the term was transferred to other kinds of challenge, particularly political ones. It was so used by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, when he told a journalist, “My hat’s in the ring,” indicating his candidacy.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer