to hang in the bell ropes
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To have one's marriage postponed after the banns have been published at church.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to hang in the bell ropes” mean?
To have one's marriage postponed after the banns have been published at church.
Is “to hang in the bell ropes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.