"Saved by the bell" is an expression used when something negative is about to happen, but suddenly this situation can be avoided, are usually cases where the individual is under danger or before an embarrassing scene.
There are several versions to explain the origin of the expression, and the most widespread is linked to cases of people buried alive with outbreaks of catalepsy.
Catalepsy is a disorder that prevents the patient from moving, and to avoid these tragedies, families in Europe they tied a rope to the wrist of the deceased, and fastened it to a bell outside the tomb.
If the person was not dead, he would ring the bell and would literally be saved by the gong. There was a person who stood guard at the cemetery to see if the dead person was resurrected, usually the gravedigger.
Another version of the origin of this expression says that it appeared in London, in the 17th century, where a guard at the Windsor palace was accused of sleep at the clinic, but he claimed he was so awake he heard the church bell ring 13 times that night and the English expression is "
"Salvo pelo gongo" also refers to boxing matches, where fighters are forced to stop fighting when they hear the sound of the gong. Normally, the bell sounds when the referee notices that one of the fighters is suffering a lot, so he is “saved by the bell”.
See also the meaning of break the ice.
