Way With Words: Saved by the Bell

Nowadays ‘saved by the bell’ is thrown around as an allusion to school, when a bell means that your least favorite class is over, or that school is done for the day.

Conversely, people switch out “bell” with whatever just allowed them to escape a situation.

For example, when a guy or gal’s date isn’t going well and they happen to get a phone call, they are ‘saved by the cell.’

However, the phrase didn’t originate with school bells.

There are two popular notions for the origin of ‘saved by the bell,’ and neither of them have anything to do with a ‘90s TV show. The first suggests the phrase was first used in the boxing circuit, the second that it came from the safety coffins of those who feared being buried alive.

The boxing term stems from the 19th Century, when boxing became more modernized with rules similar to today’s matches, and the fear of being buried alive was a common phobia first reported in the 17th Century.

A boxer in danger of losing a round can be ‘saved by the bell,’ causing him to get another shot in the next round after a little bit of rest.

As for the burial origin, many people feared being buried alive, and thus ‘safety coffins’ came with a little bell with a rope attached, so that anyone who had been buried alive could tug on their end and alert the gravekeeper that they were alive.

Regardless of the origin, the phrase doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.