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- single word requests - What do you call the sound of a bell? - English . . .
The sound of a hand held brass bell, to me, is "ding-a-ling " "Tinkle" would apply at best to a very small bell (and at worst is slang for urinate as I commented above), and "brrring" would apply to the repeated hammering on a bell such as one used to hear telephones or school bells make "Bling" is slang for gaudy jewellery!
- idioms - For whom the bell tolls - origin of ask not instead of . . .
HAGSTRUM: I was rather amused to read that after Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls came out with its quotation from John Donne's Devotions people came to the libraries and wanted the complete works of John Donne Here was one book which influenced another much in the same manner as a movie will influence the sale of the book
- What does hells bells refer to? - English Language Usage Stack . . .
The Phrase Finder is a recommended reference << What's the origin of the phrase 'Hell's bells'? The exclamation 'Hell's bells' has been used in both the UK and the USA since at least the mid-19th century
- colloquialisms - Words are not sparrows; once they have flown they . . .
The bell, once rung, cannot be unrung or You cannot unring the bell Google books traces "cannot be unrung" to 1924: what is learned or suspected outside of court may have some influence on the judicial decision It may be only a subtle or even subconscious influence, but a bell cannot be unrung Adverse claimants have at least some reason
- Lunch vs. dinner vs. supper — times and meanings?
@Mitch: As an American, I'd mostly agree with Matthias that "lunch" refers to a noon-time meal and "supper" to an evening meal regardless of size, while "dinner" specifically refers to a larger or more formal meal
- A figure of speech to illustrate the irreversibility of an action
Personally I like "You can't unring that bell" as deadrat mentioned above The phrase refers to the fact that you can't un-hear a bell that has been rung There's a nice essay about its history here: Unring the Bell (impossibility of taking back a statement or action)
- How to cite an author who does not capltalize her name if you are . . .
According to the very link you have on CMoS, it says that one must capitalise and advises to re-write Though oddly, while it (correctly) says "E E Cummings" is fine because he didn't lowercase his name himself, and advise rewriting to not begin a sentence with "bell hooks", there's an exception made for "names like eBay"
- word choice - What Is the Real Name of the #? - English Language . . .
1996 New Scientist 30 Mar 54 3 The term ‘octothorp(e)’ (which MWCD10 dates 1971) was invented for ‘#’, allegedly by Bell Labs engineers when touch-tone telephones were introduced in the mid-1960s ‘Octo-’ means eight, and ‘thorp’ was an Old English word for village: apparently the sign was playfully construed as eight fields
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