Meaning of saved by the bell | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Of a competitor in a boxing or wrestling match or similar competition, spared from being counted out by the referee by the ringing of the bell which concludes the round.
   not-comparable
2. Rescued or favorably assisted by a timely interruption or by the sudden termination of difficult circumstances.
   broadly, idiomatic, not-comparable

Equivalents

Examples

“Forrest floored Mosley again at the end of the round and almost finished him, but Mosley was saved by the bell.”

“So Asad's probing created a problem. . . . In a real sense Kissinger was saved by the bell: the American party had that afternoon to catch a plane to Israel.”

“The Montgomery bus boycott was "saved by the bell" of a federal Supreme Court decision that came just before the last minute.”

“But in 1998, Mr. DiFrancesco never answered the allegations against him to the satisfaction of town officials. Instead, he was saved by the bell, in a way: In a rare electoral upset, Democrats took control of the Township Council in November 1998. They immediately fired Mr. DiFrancesco and replaced him with a Democrat, giving his termination the appearance of simple partisan politics.”

CEFR level