Pull the other one, it's got bells on

Posted by R. Berg on March 30, 2003

In Reply to: Pull the other one, it's got bells on posted by Yasmin Mazur on March 30, 2003

: Can someone help me with the ORIGIN of THIS expression?
: I'm not looking for it's meaning, I know it's when someone doesn't believe what was said. I'm not looking for the origin of Pulling my leg either - just the phrase Pull The Other One, It's Got Bells On.
: BTW - what is the connection between the bells and someone's leg? Doesn't seem relevant, just two expressions that got confused together.

Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day, by Eric Partridge, has an entry for this phrase. It says just a little about the origin: "Frank Shaw attributed it to the 1920s" (no, I don't know who he was) and "Presumably from pictures of court jesters, wearing cap and bells."

• Pull the other one, it's got bells on Yasmin Mazur 03/31/03
  • Pull the other one, it's got bells on TheFallen 03/31/03
    • Pull the other one, it's got bells on Yasmin Mazur 03/31/03
      • History hard to find R. Berg 03/31/03