Citations:bell cow

English citations of bell cow

Noun: "a leader; influencer"

• 1929, Thorne Smith, The Stray Lamb, Chapter 17,^[1]

  She’s her own woman, major, first, last and all time. If she can’t be the bell cow she’s not going to trail along. That’s all there is to it.

• 1951, Ernie Harwell, “Wanted: A Mr. Baseball,” The American Legion Magazine, Volume 50, No. 4, April 1951, p. 23,^[2]

  Who’s the logical successor? […] Any list would have to be headed by Joe DiMaggio, Ruth’s successor as the bell-cow of great New York Yankee teams.

• 1986, Peter Hannaford, Talking Back to the Media‎^[3], New York: Facts On File, page 29:

  When the issue is a political one, reporters tend to watch for the reactions of certain “bell cow” journalists.

• 1995, Joseph W. Bartlett, Equity Finance: Venture Capital, Buyouts, Restructurings and Reorganizations, volume 1, page 125:

  To induce investors to declare themselves, one strategy is to line up a lead or “bell cow” investor and hold a first closing, escrowing the proceeds of the offering until enough subscriptions are collected to round out a viable financing.

• 2001, J. Gregory Dees, Jed Emerson, Peter Economy, Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs, John Wiley & Sons, page 98:

  “Bell cows” can be particularly helpful. Bell cows are individuals with such strong reputations that they give instant credibility when they make a commitment. The herd follows them in! Who are the bell cows in your community or your field of endeavor?

• 2008 November 17, Jack Flack, “How Goldman Spun the Inevitable Into Big News”, in The New York Times:

  Goldman is used to taking the lead. In fact, The Wall Street Journal’s Susanne Craig reported that other firms were standing by on a “Lloyd watch,” waiting to see what precedent would be set by Wall Street’s traditional bell-cow. As those firms now make their own inevitable bonus decisions, they will have to settle for “me-too” stories.

• 2015 August 13, “Chris Simms: ‘Carlos Hyde can be a stud in the NFL’”, in FOX Sports‎^[4]:

  When Carlos Hyde was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it was presumed he would eventually take over Frank Gore's role as lead back for the Niners. Now that Gore signed in Indianapolis, the door is wide open for Hyde to seize that opportunity. "He looks the part as far as a bellcow running back," Bleacher Report NFL analyst Chris Simms said of Hyde.