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.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sound as a bell

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

However, joy came at the end of the night, for the messenger brought word that the lad had been found, sound as a bell, having just shipped as a common sailor on an Indiaman.

From The Art of Disappearing by Smith, John Talbot

He was a true Bushman, and could go off sound as a bell the moment he stretched himself on his “downy bed,” as he called it.

From From Squire to Squatter A Tale of the Old Land and the New by Stables, Gordon

Testing the idea in one way and another, I found it sound as a bell.

From Frenzied Finance Vol. 1: The Crime of Amalgamated by Lawson, Thomas William

As a lawyer he was sound as a bell, a most eminent draftsman, and a mighty quick worker when he liked, though he was not a model of industry.

From The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon by Gordon, J. M. (Joseph Maria)