The locution “saved by the bell” is usually used to express that someone has gotten rid of damage or a problem at the last moment, by the hair and often by fortune. But have you ever wondered where this expression comes from?
The origin of many proverbs and sayings is lost in time, since these are passed from generation to generation, some even remaining in force for centuries. Likewise, different theories can abound that try to explain where a single one of these phrases comes from.
If one looks for the genesis of the expression “saved by the bell” (or saved by the bell), it will not take long to come across a theory that places the origin of the phrase in the Middle Ages. At that time, bells and bells began to be placed connected to the coffins by means of a rope or thread with the aim of serving as an alarm in the event that someone had been buried without actually being dead.
In this dark practice, beliefs were mixed with some real cases of catalepsy, a biological state in which the person lies immobile, in apparent death and without vital signs. Having a bell available to ring from the grave was good life insurance. Saved by the bell, one could say with all the reason in the world.
However, the origin of the expression “saved by the bell” is not in the old cemeteries, but in boxing, a sport that has given rise to other colloquial phrases such as “bite the canvas”, “kneel down” or “I ran out of air”.
The bell was introduced to boxing when the Marquess of Queensberry Rules were established in 1867, rules introduced to make the sport safer and less bloody. Gloves, the 10-second count given to a boxer who has fallen to the ground to get up and continue fighting or time limits were incorporated. The duration of each round was set at three minutes, with one minute of rest.
The sound of the bell notifies the boxers of the beginning and end of each round, marking the moment in which they must stop the blows. In this way, when a fighter is receiving a sovereign beating from his opponent, being on the verge of KO, and the metallic sound of the bell is heard that signals the end of the round, it is said that he has been saved by the bell. .
The expression gained momentum in the 1990s thanks to the four seasons of the popular television series Saved by the Bell (Saved by the Bell, in English, 1989/1992). The adventures and misadventures of Zack, Slater, Screech, Kelly, Jessie and Lisa through Bayside High School were a worldwide success.
In Spanish there is an idiom with an identical meaning to “saved by the bell” and whose origin is even earlier. It is about “saving by the hair”. This expression is pure literalness. And it is that most of the ancient sailors left their hair long, very long. Their long hair did not respond to any fashion, but to a safety element, since many sailors did not know how to swim and falling into the water is one of the greatest dangers on a ship. The fear of drowning led them to have long hair, since, if one jumped overboard, their hair floated on the surface of the sea, thus making it easier for another crew member to both locate him and grab him by the mane and save him. By the hair.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
