Saved By The Bell?

A story about the origin of the phrase "saved by the bell." It creates a metaphor of what to do when you feel buried alive.

This post isn’t about Zack, Kelly, and Screech.

The phrase “saved by the bell” has a (potentially true but possibly not) origin story that I find fascinating - and a bit dark.

The story goes that in the 16th century, people were often buried alive accidentally - so much so that it was a very real fear for many people. To combat this fear, coffins were created with a string or rope inside them that was connected to a bell above ground.

Should the unlikely “I’m-not-quite-dead-yet” person wake up in their coffin, they could pull the string to ring the bell so that those above could dig them up and rescue them.

They could be saved by the bell.

I like this metaphor a lot.

We’ve all felt like we somehow ended up buried alive. It could be a situation we stumbled into and can’t seem to make better, a series of mistakes or bad decisions we’ve made, or simply a stubborn malaise that we just can’t shake.

We get trapped.

We even sometimes say that “we are buried at work.”

I like the idea of us ringing the bell.

Sound the alarm.

Shoot up a flare.

You don’t have to pretend like it isn’t happening to you. In fact, there are people in your life who will help you dig out of whatever you find yourself in.

You just have to ask.

So, if that’s you…

Pull the string and ring the bell.

Text someone and say, “I don’t know exactly what I need from you, but I know I need to tell someone I’m not in a good place right now.”

Before you know it, your search party will get to work digging you out of the darkness.

Fun side note - the phrase “dead ringer” also comes from the bell in the coffin. When someone resembles someone who has died, it’s like the deceased came back from the grave. And yeah, I know. The origin of “saved by the bell” is more likely from boxing, but never let the facts get in the way of the truth.