saved by the bell
Narrowly escaped doom
Saved by the bell means rescued from a bad situation by a last-minute interruption.
The phrase comes from boxing, where a fighter who's been knocked down can avoid a knockout if the round ends before the referee finishes counting: I hadn't studied, but the fire drill meant I was saved by the bell.
The expression applies to any narrow escape from something unpleasant.
Just before deadline
- reprievePostponement of punishment
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- narrow escapeBarely avoiding disaster
- in the nick of timeAt the final moment
lucky break · eleventh hour · deadline · rescued · off the hook · dodged a bullet · clutch · just in time
last-minute
Just before deadline
- reprievePostponement of punishment
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- narrow escapeBarely avoiding disaster
in the nick of time · lucky break · eleventh hour · deadline · rescued · off the hook · dodged a bullet · clutch · just in time · timely
round
Curved like circle
corner · canvas · gloves · bout · judges · scorecard · punch · jab · hook · uppercut
- combat idiomsstab in the back, dodge a bullet, in the crosshairs, fire away, take a shot
- Old Idiomsbeyond the pale, hue and cry, scot-free, knight in shining armor, eat humble pie
- boxing rulesreferee, knockdown, knockout, TKO, round
- boxingjab, uppercut, hook, punch, knockout
- Cricket Idiomssticky wicket, not cricket, bowled over, stumped, on the back foot
- Knockoutsknockout, KO, TKO, technical knockout, knockout punch
saved by the belltoo little too late
Insufficient and belated remedy
faced the music · missed the boat · down for the count · a day late and a dollar short · caught red-handed
saved by the bellpulled oneself up by one's bootstraps
Achieved success independently
save, saved, saves, saving, saver, savers, savable, unsaved, bell