I've always been fascinated with how words take on new meaning within particular industries or social circles. In retail and hospitality, the word "ring" is a prime example. Anyone who has ever worked as a clerk, a cashier, a server, a bartender, a delivery person, etc is familiar with "ringing" up a customer or guest check. The derivative of this industry-specific term is the sound made by a cash register drawer. Most older cash registers contained a bell that would ring each time the cash drawer fired open. Many modern-day computer peripheral cash drawer devices used with automated POS (point-of-sale) systems also contain optional bells that will ring each time the POS system fires the cash drawer.
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***Updated from previous 2011 post***
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