bell the cat

bell the cat — ► bell the cat take the danger of a shared enterprise upon oneself. [ORIGIN: an allusion to a fable in which the mice suggest hanging a bell around the cat s neck to have warning of its approach.] Main Entry: ↑bell …   English terms dictionary

bell the cat — To bell the cat is to perform a difficult or impossible task …   The small dictionary of idiomes

Bell the cat — Belling the cat or to bell the cat is an English colloquialism that means to suggest or attempt to perform a difficult or impossible task. [ [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/To+bell+the+cat To Bell the Cat ] thefreedictionary.com. Accessed… …   Wikipedia

bell the cat — verb take a risk; perform a daring act Who is going to bell the cat? • Hypernyms: ↑risk, ↑put on the line, ↑lay on the line • Verb Frames: Somebody s * * * phrasal …   Useful english dictionary

bell the cat — take the danger of a shared enterprise upon oneself. [an allusion to a fable in which the mice suggest hanging a bell around the cat s neck to have warning of its approach.] → bell …   English new terms dictionary

bell the cat — Synonyms and related words: affront, beard, bite the bullet, brave, brazen, brazen out, confront, court danger, defy danger, face, face the music, face up, face up to, flirt with death, front, go for broke, meet, meet boldly, meet head on, play… …   Moby Thesaurus

bell the cat — do the dangerous thing, take the risk, face the danger with bravery …   English contemporary dictionary

bell the cat — verb To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group …   Wiktionary

BELL-THE-CAT —    Archibald Douglas, Earl of Arran, so called from his offer to dispose by main force of an obnoxious favourite of the king, James III …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

bell the cat — phrasal to do a daring or risky deed …   New Collegiate Dictionary

bell the cat, — idi to attempt something dangerous or daring …   From formal English to slang