wringer

[ ring-er ]

/ ˈrɪŋ ər /

a person or thing that wrings.

an apparatus or machine for squeezing liquid out of anything wet, as two rollers through which an article of wet clothing may be squeezed.

a painful, difficult, or tiring experience; ordeal (usually preceded by through the): His child's illness really put him through the wringer.

Origin of wringer

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wring, -er¹

He degraded her and he really put her through the wringer, but she survived that and stayed with him anyway.

Adam Driver on Role-Play Sex with Lena Dunham on ‘Girls’ and Adam’s Stormy Relationship with Hannah |Marlow Stern |March 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I was angry that good people were run through the wringer of a corrupt, unforgiving system.

Nuclear Sub Cheating Scandal |Christopher Brownfield |September 22, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
But then again, he would probably not want to go through the wringer a second time.

The White House's TSA Failure |Clive Irving |March 27, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Wringing is made easier if the wringer has wide hems into which sticks such as pieces of broom handles are inserted.

American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick |Jane A. Delano

Also, your garments are as wrinkled as though you'd been put through a wringer.

Frank Roscoe's Secret |Allen Chapman
There's the week's clothes to go through the wringer, but I know what soldiers is for a wringer; they can't leave it alone.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, March 28, 1917 |Various
The wringer is attached to a device for making the inside tub turn rapidly.

Mechanical Devices in the Home |Edith Louise Allen
Have a cup of coffee; you sure look as though you've been through a wringer.

The Brain |Alexander Blade

wringer

/ (ˈrɪŋə) /

another name for mangle 2 (def. 1)

wringer

see under put through (the wringer).