English

Noun

Ringnut ‎(plural Ringnuts)

1. (slang, humorous or pejorative) A fan of the opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner.
   • 2007, Charles McGrath, "‘Ring’ Pilgrims: On the Horns of a Devotion", The New York Times, 8 July 2007:

     Ringnuts have been known to wear plastic versions of those helmets while standing in line outside the opera house.

   • 2008, Daniel J. Wakin, "‘Ring’ Fans and the Met Lock Horns Over Ticket Rule ", The New York Times, 10 April 2008:

     For Ringnuts who may be alarmed by the new ticket policy, there is a modest loophole, discovered by Mr. Hardt.

   • 2008 June 15, graham, “Re: Where is everyone?”, in uk.food+drink.misc, Usenet:

     It's the same with Wagner's operas (apart from Dutchman) - one is either a "Ringnut" or completely indifferent.

2. (slang, humorous or pejorative) A fan of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and/or the film trilogy based on it.
   • 2003 December 22, toto, “Fun for non-Tolkien fans (was Re: DON'T PUT SPOILERS IN SUBJECT LINES)”, in misc.kids, Usenet:

     27. Sit next to a ringnut and ask "so what's the deal with the ring?" every time it comes on the screen

   • 2004 March 18, Rob Jensen, “Re: Yesterday episode”, in alt.tv.gilmore-girls, Usenet:

     And to borrow a LotR reference for a moment -- and forgive me, 'cause I'm just a casual fan of the LotR movies, not a Ringnut -- Emily is Bilbo to Lorelai's Frodo and Rory's Sam.

   • 2006 August 26, webmaster@themovieaddict.com, “Retrospective: Dead Alive (1992)”, in rec.arts.movies.reviews, Usenet:

     And I'm sure I'll get plenty of hate mail for single-handedly declaring all Ringnuts and Jackson fanboys are losers when I'm the guy spending time writing a review to post on the Internet, but hey, I never said I wasn't a hypocrite.

Synonyms

• (Ring cycle fan): Ringhead
• (Lord of the Rings fan): Ringer

Hypernyms

• (Ring cycle fan): Wagnerian, Wagnerite
• (Lord of the Rings fan): Tolkiendil, Tolkienian, Tolkienist, Tolkienite