(as) clear as a bell
1. Very crisply audible; very easy to hear. Unfortunately, our next-door neighbors fight a lot, and we can hear them clear as a bell—even at 3 AM! With these new headphones, you'll be able to hear music as clear as a bell. Can't you hear that? It's a cat meowing, clear as a bell. But where is it coming from?
2. Easy to understand; very clear. These directions are as clear as a bell, so you shouldn't have any questions. I want the language in these legal contracts to be as clear as a bell so that there is no confusion. The sign is right there on the door—it's as clear as a bell.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*clear as a bell
very clear, as with the sound of a bell. (*Also: as ~.) I fixed the radio, so now all the stations come in clear as a bell. Through the wall, I could hear the neighbors talking, just as clear as a bell.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
clear as a bell
Pure as the sound of a bell; also, readily understood. For example, Did you understand the message I left you?-Yes, clear as a bell. This simile, which alludes to the bell's clarity owing to lack of overtones, was already a proverb in John Ray's English Proverbs (1670).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
clear as a bell
If a sound is as clear as a bell, you can hear it very easily. Suddenly there is an unmistakable sound. It's as clear as a bell.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
(as) clear as a ˈbell
easily and clearly heard: ‘Can you hear me all right?’ ‘Clear as a bell!’Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
clear as a bell
Describing a tone free from harshness, rasping, or hoarseness, pure as the sound of a bell. The simile was already current in the seventeenth century; it appeared in John Ray’s proverb collection of 1670. Today it is often used figuratively to describe something that is readily understood. See also
loud and clear.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer