Saved by the bell idiom meaning

The origination of the phrase comes from the world of boxing where the rounds are of a short duration and often boxers are saved because of the signalling of the bell to say that the round is over. The opposite party cannot throw another blow when the bell has rung and hence the other side is merely saved by something that happened outside rather than his own efforts. Share your opinions 3 Opinions. In boxing it meant the fighter has been knocked to the floor with less than 10 seconds to go in the fight, saved by the bell idiom meaning.

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Saved by the bell idiom meaning

There is a widespread notion that 'saved by the bell' originated as an expression that relates to people being buried alive. The idea was that, if someone were comatose and mistakenly pronounced dead and interred, they could, if they later revived, ring a bell that was attached to the coffin and be saved. The idea is certainly plausible as the fear of being buried alive was and is real. Several prominent people expressed this fear when close to death themselves:. Just as real were the devices themselves, several of which were patented in England and in the USA. These were known as 'safety coffins' and designs were registered in the 19th century and up to as late as ; for example:. The Improved Burial Case. Patent No. August 25, As well as a handy bell, Vester's device had the novel enhancement of a glass screen to view the coffin's occupant. Presumably the mourners could wave to the deceased and, if he waved back, they knew they were on to something. There's no evidence to show that anyone was ever saved by these coffins or even that they were ever put to use, and there's a similar lack of evidence of the phrase 'saved by the bell' ever being used in that sense prior to it having been used in other contexts. In fact, the expression is boxing slang and it came into being in the latter half of the 19th century.

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Add to word list Add to word list. Luckily my bus arrived before I had time to reply. Saved by the bell. Preserving and saving. Translations of saved by the bell in Chinese Traditional. See more. Need a translator?

An allusion to the bell that ends the round in a boxing match saving a boxer from being counted out. Just when he was about to start yelling at me, the fire alarm went off and saved me by the bell. See also: bell , by , save. Saved or spared from difficulty or misfortune by some intervention at the very last moment. The teacher was just getting ready to hand out the quizzes when the fire alarm went off—saved by the bell! Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Saved by the bell idiom meaning

Log In. My Account. Danielle McLeod. Danielle McLeod is a highly qualified secondary English Language Arts Instructor who brings a diverse educational background to her classroom. With degrees in science, English, and literacy, she has worked to create cross-curricular materials to bridge learning gaps and help students focus on effective writing and speech techniques. Currently working as a dual credit technical writing instructor at a Career and Technical Education Center, her curriculum development surrounds student focus on effective communication for future career choices. Saved by the bell is an idiom used to exclaim that one has been rescued or saved through a last-minute intervention. Idioms like saved by the bell are phrases where the words together have a different meaning than their individual definitions. Learning and recognizing them helps master the nuances of the English language. Keep reading to fully understand what saved by the bell means and how to apply it to your material.

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All rights reserved. These synonyms convey the idea of being saved or rescued from a problematic or perilous situation just in the nick of time. Read more…. Saved by the bell Other phrases about: Sport and games Death and dying. The origination of the phrase comes from the world of boxing where the rounds are of a short duration and often boxers are saved because of the signalling of the bell to say that the round is over. Several prominent people expressed this fear when close to death themselves:. Saved by the bell is an idiomatic expression denoting a last-minute rescue from a challenging situation. In fact, the expression is boxing slang and it came into being in the latter half of the 19th century. Keep reading to fully understand what saved by the bell means and how to apply it to your material. Interestingly, this expression is not exclusive to English. Quiz French confusables. Korean to English. Read about the team of authors behind Collins Dictionaries. Quiz Italian confusables. Log In.

There is a widespread notion that 'saved by the bell' originated as an expression that relates to people being buried alive.

Read More. Full browser? Grammar Patterns. Mandarin Chinese characters. Hindi English to Hindi. English Translations. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. Video Build your vocabulary. Wordle Helper. English Dictionary. Keep reading to fully understand what saved by the bell means and how to apply it to your material. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. English—Indonesian Indonesian—English. Choose a dictionary. The Improved Burial Case.