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Definition of Bell the cat
1. Verb. Take a risk; perform a daring act. "Who is going to bell the cat?"
Definition of Bell the cat
1. Verb. (idiomatic) To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Bell The Cat
Literary usage of Bell the cat
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Dictionary of Historical Allusions by Harbottle, Thomas Benfield, d. 1904 (1904)
"Bell the Cat The sobriquet of Archibald Douglas, the " great " Earl of Angus,
which he earned by undertaking to take the lead in removing James III of ..."
2. Handy-book of Literary Curiosities by William Shepard Walsh (1892)
"But when he asked, " Who will bell the cat ? ... Afterwards he was always known
as Bell-the-Cat. Cat, To whip the, an old English synonyme for practical ..."
3. An Explanatory and Pronouncing Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction by William Adolphus Wheeler (1872)
"Bell-the-Cat. A by-name given to *S, - Archibald Douglas (d. 1514), a Scottish
nobleman, from an incident that occurred at Lauder, where the great barons of ..."
4. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900)
"Of Archibald Bell-the- Cat. Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, a man remarkable
for strength of body and mind, acquired the popular name of Bell-the-Cat upon ..."
5. The Fables of Aesop by Aesop (1902)
"In a conspiracy against James III. of Scotland, Lord Grey narrated the fable,
when Archibald Earl of Angus exclaimed : " I am he who will bell the cat. ..."
6. A History of the House of Douglas from the Earliest Times Down to the by Herbert Maxwell (1902)
"Archibald " Bell-the-Cat," PACE 36 His renewed treason, 1489. ... ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS,
5th Earl of Angus, popularly known as " Bell-the-Cat," was no exception ..."
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