A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase have one’s bell rung—(Sport) suffer a minor concussion,
having been hit on the head (also: get one’s head rung ): He
reminds me of a big old football player who’s had his bell rung
once too often.
ring someone’s bell—(coll., also: ring someone’s chimes) get a
person’s attention or interest: When Mary heard what Jim was
saying, the news certainly rang her bell.
See also: ring a bell / ring the bell.
risk capital • risk money
risk capital —(also: venture capital) money for speculative
business investment: Kula Fund was established to provide
long-term risk capital to private sector projects in the Pacific.
risk money —
1
. allowance to a cashier to compensate for
ordinary errors: To meet deficiencies, some banks allow to
each cashier a certain sum, which is called risk-money. 2. =
risk capital: A business man ought to be able to get his “risk
money” back before he has to pay too much in the way of tax-
ation.
ritual act • ritualistic act
ritual act—an activity which happens as part of a tradition:
Herein lies the explanation of how the act of bathing could
have become a ritual act sanctioned by many religions.
ritualistic act—an activity which follows the same pattern
every time it is used: I love tea because I love the ritualistic
act of making and drinking tea.
river-horse • sea-horse
river-horse —the hippopotamus: The crocodiles and river-
horses are common in this unpeopled region; and I often
looked upon them with terror.
sea-horse —
1
. the walrus: From this account the horse-whale
seems to have been the animal now called the walrus, or sea-
horse, whose tusks are ivory. 2. (pl.) white foam and spray on
the crests of waves: The sea was a beautiful deep blue, as calm
as could be with little white sea horses here and there. 3. (also:
flying sea-horse) a fish of peculiar form, with body somewhat
like a horse’s head: The sea horse is a very strange fish that
lives in warm water.