Meaning
Used of arriving somewhere or joining in eagerly, enthusiastically, and with flair; if you say you will be there with bells on, you promise not mere attendance but delighted, showy participation. Mainly North American and informal. Informal and upbeat; chiefly North American, though widely understood. It can also be deployed sarcastically to mock overeagerness. Regional use: American English.
Origin
American in origin; the earliest print example traced by the Phrase Finder is from the Oakland Tribune of June 1904, in boxing coverage - 'barring further accidents will be there with bells on.' A popular link is to the Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross rhyme, but the Phrase Finder rejects it: the phrase never appears in the rhyme, and the bells-on-her-toes line is itself late, so that theory is close but no cigar. The stronger candidates fit the era and region: horses wore harness bells at parades, circuses, and other gala circumstances, so arriving with bells on meant arriving with a flourish; and Conestoga freight wagons carried prized collar bells that a teamster who rescued a stuck wagon could claim as a trophy, so arriving with your bells still on was a point of satisfaction. British English has the parallel with knobs on, recorded from the 1930s. No origin is proven; circumstantial evidence is the best there is.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- be there with bells on
- same to you with bells on
- with all the bells on
Usage Examples
- The whole family will be at your graduation party with bells on; we would not miss it for anything.
- You can count me in for the charity quiz night; I will be there with bells on and a team of four.
- She accepted the invitation to open the new library with bells on, arriving in a vintage red convertible.