A tirling pin or risp and ring (chiefly Scottish) is an archaic device that was used to announce a visitor's presence at a door, in lieu of a door-knocker. It consisted of a ring and a serrated rod, along which the ring could be rattled. A visitor using such a device was said to be "tirling the pin". Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) is consistent with this, noting that "the pin is the door-latch, and before a visitor entered a room it was, in Scotland, thought good manners to fumble at the latch to give notice of your intention to enter".