cap and bells

noun

1. a fool's cap hung with bells.

cap and bells

noun

1. the traditional garb of a court jester, including a cap with bells attached to it

Word History and Origins

Origin of cap and bells¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Every man I have met out here has the amazing guts to wear his crown of thorns as though it were a cap-and-bells.

From Project Gutenberg

I wonder where we could have him measured for a cap-and-bells.

From Project Gutenberg

Often a man's own angry pride / Is cap-and-bells for a fool.

From Project Gutenberg