saved by the bell
1
5.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
salvado por la campana
- In the final moments of the game, the team scored a goal that saved by the bell.
Examples
-
Just when I thought I would miss the deadline, my boss called and saved by the bell.
-
- We were saved by the bell.
-
This time, you're not gonna get saved by the bell.
-
She was in a tough situation at work, but a last-minute phone call saved by the bell.
Synonyms
633
1.0
Save someone or something from danger
How Unexpected
- Literature
1
9.9
2
4.2
- Informal
1
5.6
232
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'save' (rescue) and 'bell' (a signaling device) give a clue that rescue happens because of a bell, but the specific meaning ‘rescued at the last moment’ depends on the cultural/boxing sense that a bell ends a dangerous situation. This causal/figurative link is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the words, so the expression is partially transparent but requires prior exposure to the idiom.
Etymology
Saved by the bell comes from boxing: when a fighter is about to lose, the ring bell rings and stops the round, so the fighter is suddenly 'saved' from defeat. That's why the phrase now means being rescued from trouble at the last moment.