“Come with bells on” – That came out of my mouth while speaking to a few workshop attendees. Where did that come from I wondered. Especially since, it arrived in my mind and out of my mouth without being summoned. A family saying I presumed. Bringing a few bells with me today to HunterdonSharedSpace to put on the one horse sleigh.
When I looked into it I discovered that when traveling salesman in horse drawn carriages approached a city, they donned their horses with bells. The villagers far and wide could hear them coming and hurry to the town square. A meeting space for the seller.
“This phrase is frequently used in reply to a party invitation and the common format in that case is to indicate one’s enthusiasm with ‘I’ll be there with bells on!’. The phrase originated in the late 19th/early 20th centuries and most of the early citations of it suggest a US origin. The first record of it … found in print is from The Oakland Trbune, June 1904, in a report of a boxing match:
“Jeff will without doubt be in good condition by the last of the month and barring further accidents will be there with bells on”.” From www.phrases.org.uk With bells on – meaning and origin.
I can hear the jingle bells – Hunterdon Shared Space is happy to host an antique one horse sleigh today. Dominikija Prostak of Kismet is showing it. Hear the bells?