sound as a bell

Idioms  

1. In excellent condition, as in Now that the brakes have been relined, the car is sound as a bell, or The surgery went well and now he's sound as a bell. This simile rests on the assumption that the bell in question is not cracked (which would make it useless). First recorded in 1565, it has survived numerous other similes (sound as a top or roach or dollar), probably owing to its pun on “sound.”

---

Example Sentences

And then there are some trees in the valleys under the mountains, sound as a bell, and bad right through.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

She'd started a butt as I all along thought, otherwise she's as sound as a bell.

From A Marriage at Sea by Russell, W. Clark (William Clark)

This one I’m telling you of is as sound as a bell, and as strong as iron.

From The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's A School Story by Reed, Talbot Baines

I really will, I feel quite well, As fresh as a rose, and as sound as a bell, And I’ll always swear that the only balm For a cold in the head is Alkaram.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, October 29, 1887 by Various

The dissipation, the dining-out, and all the devilment would destroy him entirely; but a few weeks' peace and quietness up at Murranakilty will make him as sound as a bell.'

From Jack Hinton The Guardsman by Lever, Charles James