Meaning of bell cow | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The lead cow in a herd.
2. A leader; an influencer.
   US, figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“[he] also keeps a number⟳ of cows, one of which has a bell hung round its neck, which keeps ringing with every motion of the cow. The other cows follow⟳ the “bell cow,” and thus their whereabouts in the forest are readily got at.”

“The mornings were rosy, the noontide shone with a deeper red, but the evenings came, serenely stealing, it seemed, out of the heavily-wooded land⟳, spreading over the fields and creeping along the hill-sides where the bell-cow rang her melancholy curfew.”

“When Carlos Hyde was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it was presumed he would eventually take⟳ over Frank Gore's role as lead⟳ back for the Niners. Now that Gore signed in Indianapolis, the door is wide open⟳ for Hyde to seize that opportunity. "He looks the part as far as a bellcow running back," Bleacher Report⟳ NFL analyst Chris Simms said of Hyde.”

“Goldman is used to taking the lead⟳. In fact, The Wall Street Journal’s Susanne Craig reported that other firms were standing by on a “Lloyd watch⟳,” waiting to see⟳ what precedent would be set⟳ by Wall Street’s traditional bell-cow. As those firms now make⟳ their own⟳ inevitable bonus decisions, they will have⟳ to settle⟳ for “me-too” stories.”

“When the issue⟳ is a political one, reporters tend⟳ to watch⟳ for the reactions of certain “bell cow” journalists.”

CEFR level