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.
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
Yet I welcome the digital download of Bow bells if it can encourage the virtues of self-reliance and magnanimity that are characteristic of these unjustly misrepresented people.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 26, 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
By tradition the true London Cockney was "horn within sound of Bow bells" ringing from the tower of St. Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bow bells, born within the sound of, 28.
From Notes and Queries, Index of Volume 5, January-June, 1852 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc by Bell, George
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.
