Bow bells
Americanplural noun
Etymology
Origin of Bow bells
First recorded in 1590–1600
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Miranda’s schedule being what it is, we don’t have time to debate the location of Bow bells, so I ask if it was weird singing songs he didn’t write.
From The Guardian • Dec. 1, 2018
Traditionally, a Cockney is anyone "born within the sound of Bow bells" - the bells of St.Mary-le-Bow church in the heart of medieval London.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2012
She calls herself "a true cockney" – she was born in Barts hospital on a Sunday morning to the sound of the Bow bells.
From The Guardian • Mar. 20, 2011
A Cockney is one who was born within the sound of Bow bells now, alas, silenced by the birds of hell.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was the chime of Bow bells, and this is what it said to him:— "Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London!"
From Stories of London by Hoskyn, E. L. (Elizabeth Louisa)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
