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Seven bells

Posted by James Briggs on August 29, 2005

In Reply to: Seven bells posted by Bruce Kahl on August 29, 2005

: : What is the origin of the phrase "to knock seven bells" out of something?

: Just a guess so dont hold me to it but I think boxing matches were at one time only 7 rounds with each round ending on a bell so to knock seven bells out of someone is to give him a good beating--seven rounds worth of a beating.

Try www.scotland.com/ forums/ showthread.php? threadid= 18260&pagenumber=2 and scroll a bit down the page.

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