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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

saved by the bell en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) Of a competitor in a boxing or wrestling match or similar competition, spared from being counted out by the referee by the ringing of the bell which concludes the round.
    • Forrest floored Mosley again at the end of the round and almost finished him, but Mosley was saved by the bell. 2002 July 19, Damon Hack, “Boxing: Despite Not Having the Title, Mosley Garners Attention”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2021, retrieved 06 Jan 2014:
  2. (broadly, idiomatic, not-comparable) Rescued or favorably assisted by a timely interruption or by the sudden termination of difficult circumstances.
    • The Montgomery bus boycott was "saved by the bell" of a federal Supreme Court decision that came just before the last minute. 1997, John Howard Yoder, For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public, →ISBN, page 130:
    • So Asad's probing created a problem. . . . In a real sense Kissinger was saved by the bell: the American party had that afternoon to catch a plane to Israel. 1988, Patrick Seale, Maureen McConville, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East, →ISBN, page 248:
    • But in 1998, Mr. DiFrancesco never answered the allegations against him to the satisfaction of town officials. Instead, he was saved by the bell, in a way: In a rare electoral upset, Democrats took control of the Township Council in November 1998. They immediately fired Mr. DiFrancesco and replaced him with a Democrat, giving his termination the appearance of simple partisan politics. 2001 April 17, David M. Halbfinger, “New Jersey's Acting Governor Was Faulted on Ethics in 1998”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Jan 2021, retrieved 06 Jan 2014:

Translations (8)

de vom Gong gerettet (rescued by a timely interruption) · fr sauvé par la cloche (rescued by a timely interruption) · es salvado por la campana (rescued by a timely interruption) · pt salvo pelo gongo (rescued by a timely interruption) · fr sauvé par le gong (rescued by a timely interruption) · ca salvat per la campana (rescued by a timely interruption) · fi pelastua täpärästi (rescued by a timely interruption) · it salvato dalla campanella (rescued by a timely interruption)