Where did the term saved by the bell originate?
Folk etymology has suggested that perhaps the phrases "saved by the bell", "dead ringer" and "graveyard shift" come from the use of safety coffins in the Victorian era; however, these have been dispelled as urban myth, attributed to a linguistic e-mail hoax "Life in the 1500s". The "saved by the bell" expression is actually well established to have come from boxing, where a boxer who is still on their feet but close to being knocked down can be saved from losing by the bell ringing to indicate the end of the round.
According to urban myth, where did the term saved by the bell originate?
use of safety coffins in the Victorian era
Safety coffin
Folk etymology has suggested that perhaps the phrases "saved by the bell", "dead ringer" and "graveyard shift" come from the use of safety coffins in the Victorian era; however, these have been dispelled as urban myth, attributed to a linguistic e-mail hoax "Life in the 1500s". The "saved by the bell" expression is actually well established to have come from boxing, where a boxer who is still on their feet but close to being knocked down can be saved from losing by the bell ringing to indicate the end of the round.
Where did the term saved by the bell actually originate?
a boxer who is still on their feet but close to being knocked down can be saved from losing by the bell boxing
Safety coffin
Safety coffin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety%20coffin
The general fear of premature burial led to the invention of many safety devices which could be incorporated into coffins. Most consisted of some type of device for communication to the outside world such as a cord attached to a bell that the interred person could ring should they revive after the burial.
Safety coffin
Folk etymology has suggested that perhaps the phrase saved by the bell came from the use of safety coffins in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era, the general fear of premature burial led to the invention of many safety devices which could be incorporated into coffins. Most of these safety devices consisted of some type of device for communication to the outside world such as a cord attached to a bell that the interred person could ring should they revive after the burial. However, the origins of the saved by the bell expression in regards to safety coffins in the Victorian Era has been dispelled as urban myth. The saved by the bell expression is actually well established to have come from boxing, where a boxer who is still on their feet but close to being knocked down can be saved from losing by the bell ringing to indicate the end of the round.