bell ringer
1
7.0
- noun
- Informal
- Their new marketing strategy turned out to be a bell ringer for the company.
Examples
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The launch of their latest smartphone was a real bell ringer in the tech industry.
-
Everyone agreed that her suggestion at the meeting was a bell ringer.
-
Winning the championship was a true bell ringer for the team.
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The launch of the new product was a bell ringer!
-
The new marketing campaign was a real bell ringer, bringing in more customers than ever before.
-
Her latest novel is a bell ringer that quickly topped the bestseller list.
-
Winning the championship was a bell ringer for the team, fulfilling their goal for the season.
Synonyms
654
1.3
Something very popular and successful, like a song or show
52
4.4
An event that is very successful and impressive
30
4.2
A perfect result that reaches the main goal
27
2.5
A very successful result that achieves its goal
1
6.5
A very big success, like a popular film
1
9.9
A very successful event or product that people praise
1
7.1
A performance or event that is very exciting and successful
A very large win that brings much money or attention
How Successful
79
7.2
80
2.6
31
3.9
- Informal
1
7.0
654
1.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal composition 'bell' + 'ringer' yields the straightforward meaning 'a person who rings a bell', which does not directly correspond to the idiomatic sense 'a standout success' given here. The achievement sense is a metaphorical extension (something that 'rings the bell' as noteworthy) and is not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely not derive the intended meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Bell ringer may come from fair games where a hard hit makes the bell ring. Making the bell ring was the clear win, so bell ringer came to mean 'a big success'.