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addict
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addict
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old hand
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old hand
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>To me, with bells on implies, not success, not ease, but rather eager anticipation.
ik ook, mijn vriend.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Helen, where did you find that? it's similar to my second reference url...
something about the phrase makes me think it's older than western expansion...
hmmm...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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some historical musuem, and yes, it does have the idea of eagerness to be there, since crossing the plains and continental diveide, to get to california, or oregon, took 6 months.. from the rail head (terminus) of ST Louis. and a lot could go wrong. flooded rivers, broken axles, disease, to get there with bells on, was to have an uneventful trip.
We'll be there in September with bells on.. (not in March , half dead, and worse, like the Donner party, an unspoken thought!)
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Helen:
I'd not heard that interpretation before. The phrase to me means arrived on time. It was something my parents said in that context and I never questioned it. But I'm wondering if it meant that a train or ship arrived ringing a bell to announce "Hey, I'm here on time or even ahead of schedule, whereas if they were late they would not advertise their arrival.
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Interesting, Ted...
I never heard "with bells on" used in context meaning to be "on time." The only way I've heard it used contextually was to convey the excitement of the moment. "I'll be arriving at 8:00 p.m." "Great! I'll be there with bells on!" Even in that context, I wouldn't have taken the meaning to be "on time" as much as being there with the enthusiasm someone mentioned above. But, I could be wrong. Nothing new.
Helen, your museum story about the bells information is very interesting. I wonder what other sources might back it up?
I wonder what the OED has to say about the phrase? Where's tsuwm?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I have always thought about it as being excited about getting somewhere, maybe even dressed up a bit.
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