鈴聲本身
這個家族就是核心畫面本身，沒有轉彎。字怎麼造的，意思就是什麼。
noun · B1
The sound of a bell ringing, written down as two notes: a higher one and then a lower one. It is the sound of doorbells, school bells, clock bells and church bells.
叮咚（鈴聲）
核心畫面
A swinging bell striking twice: a higher note on the way over, a lower note on the way back, and then again. One way to hold the word is that back-and-forth — two things taking turns, loudly, with neither one settling. The bell is the sound itself; voices in a row take turns the same way; so does the lead in a close game.
可以想成一口鐘被推著來回擺。過去敲一下，是高的 ding。回來再敲一下，是低的 dong。兩下輪流，停不下來。這個「…更多收起
可以想成一口鐘被推著來回擺。過去敲一下，是高的 ding。回來再敲一下，是低的 dong。兩下輪流，停不下來。這個「一來一往、還很大聲」的畫面，可以拿來看 ding-dong 的幾個用法。鈴聲本身就是那個畫面。兩個人吵架，你一句我一句，也是那個節奏。比賽裡領先權換來換去，一樣是來回。From the word’s history
Wiktionary dates the word to the mid 16th century and describes it as imitative of the alternate chimes of a bell: the word was made out of the sound, and the two syllables are the two strokes.
維基詞典記的是：這個字大概在十六世紀中期出現，做法是直接模仿鐘一高一低交替敲的聲音。也就是說，兩個音節本來就對應兩下敲擊。後面幾個用法跟這個畫面的連結，是幫助理解的聯想，不等於歷史上一路演變的證據。
Wiktionary entry ding-dong, etymology field (packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1412274724)
Three branches
來回拉鋸：吵架和比賽
把鐘換成人，就是這個家族。兩邊輪流出手、音量一高一低、而且誰也沒穩定壓過誰——這正是核心畫面移到人身上的樣子。
noun · B2
A loud, angry argument between people, usually a short one. This use is spoken British English and takes 'a': they had a ding-dong.
大吵一架
罵人呆（美式口語）
這個用法怎麼從鈴聲來的，手上的資料沒有交代。可以注意到的是：這個字聽起來像門鈴，所以罵起來輕、帶玩笑味，不像重話。這是幫助記憶的聯想，不是來源考證。
noun · B2
A foolish or silly person; someone who has just done something that was not thought through. This use is spoken American English, and it is a light insult.
呆瓜／傻蛋