saved by the bell
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Narrowly saved.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
' Saved by the bell, I think, ' he murmured wryly.
Remember the KOs by Bonecrusher Smith, Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson and that saved - by - the - bell escape from Jumbo Cummings in an early bout?
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Personification (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “saved by the bell” mean?
Narrowly saved.
Is “saved by the bell” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.