There are roughly 55 million single women in the US, many of them with-it, smokin' and smart, with their finger on the pulse of life. But when that certain finger is ringless, even the most self-assured single dreads¹ the shame and rebuke² of disappointed family during a visit home.

美国大约有5500万单身女性，很多女性时髦、性感、聪明，掌控自己的人生。但当无名指上没有戒指时，甚至最自信的单身女性也惧怕回家时的羞愧感，担心受到失望的家人的指责。

The holidays are known to cause stress to scores of single women in the throes of 'The Panic Years', who dub³ the annual visit-cum-interrogation the 'Thanksgiving Third Degree'.

Now some women have admitted to buying fake, cheap 'engagement rings' just to prevent parents - and other overly-critical family members - from delivering ridicule⁴ and judgement over their single status.

It may sound like a slippery slope towards avoidance issues and other psychological problems – but if it muzzles（使……缄默） them long enough without you getting grilled⁵ about why your boyfriend of three years hasn't proposed yet, it could be well worth the $30 investment.

Sometimes it's downright soul-crushing when you come home for the holidays empty-handed - literally⁶ - watching your family members' faces crumble⁷ in disappointment that you're back another year without any engagement bling.

Heather, a 31-year old lawyer from New York, was well on her way to being both unhitched and unhinged（精神错乱的） , thanks to her mother's persistent⁸ pestering⁹ about marriage.

She feared that the constant nagging¹⁰ could destroy not just her own sanity¹¹, but threaten her long-time relationship with her boyfriend, Tony, who was regularly interrogated¹² about his intentions from his would-be mother-in-law.

Well aware that showing up without a ring for the holidays would taint¹³ the mood of the entire weekend, she became very resourceful.

'I got a fake ring for 30 bucks¹⁴ just to shut her up,' she said. 'It actually worked and it turned into a really great visit!'

Just three months later, Heather had a real ring to show off. Tony proposed on their own timetable - on Valentine's Day - and her mother was never the wiser.