# bell the cat

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bell-the-cat
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group.

## Examples

- Someone needs to bell the cat and tell the boss the truth.
- I will bell the cat and ask our teacher to cancel the difficult test.
- The project is failing, but nobody wants to bell the cat by admitting it to the manager.
- The neighbors all complain about the loud parties, but nobody is willing to bell the cat and call the police.
- The players knew the coach was being unfair, yet they waited for the team captain to bell the cat and demand a change.
- Although the entire department recognized the systemic flaws in the new policy, no one was brave enough to bell the cat during the executive meeting.

## Origin

The phrase derives from a mediaeval fable concerning a council of mice who, seeking a method to avoid the local cat, propose attaching a bell to its neck to provide advance warning of its arrival. The plan is considered sound until the question arises of who should be the one to approach the predator. The fable illustrates the social inconvenience of a strategy that requires a volunteer for an almost certainly fatal task.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.