saved by the bell

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