This rings a bell

Posted by ESC on December 10, 2004

In Reply to: This rings a bell posted by SR on December 10, 2004

: : "Run like the clappers.." apparently means 'flee in haste'. (I saw it in a Guardian story on volcanic lightning.) But for us old US sorts, what does 'the clappers' mean?

: It has to do with the ringing of a bell.
: Definition:
: clapper - noun [C]
: a piece of metal which hangs inside a bell and makes the bell ring when it hits the sides
: (from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
: SR

For more information, search the archives under "clappers."

In West Virginia, if someone was running fast, he was "splitting the mud."

• For the birds Henry 13/December/04
  • For the birds Keith Rennie 13/December/04
    • Bells and clappers SR 13/December/04
      • Clap trap Henry 13/December/04
        • Clappers of hell? Hell's bells? any ideas? Keith Rennie 13/December/04