Meaning:
The most attractive woman at a social gathering.
Background:
This phrase is, of course, `the belle of the ball', not `the bell of the
ball', as it is sometimes incorrectly spelled.
A ball is of course a social gathering for dancing etc. `Belle', meaning
`fair; beautiful', was adopted into English in the 17th century from the Old
French `bele' and ultimately from the Latin `bella'. A specific meaning, the
one used in `belle of the ball', was `a lady who is the reigning beauty of a
place'. This was known by at least 1622 when John Fletcher used it in his
comic play The Beggars Bush:
"Vandunke's daughter, The dainty black-ey'd belle."
`Belle' has been, and continues to be, used in various French adjectival
phrases, for example, `belle assembl ' - brilliant assembly; `belle dame' -
fair lady; `belle laide' - an attractively ugly woman; `belle passion' -
tender passion. The term `belle of the ball' is of English origin. At least,
the earliest citation of it that I can find is from an English journal, The
New Monthly Magazine, 1822:
"The partner of partners, the belle of the ball."
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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Bill is not a sociopath, only maybe a social contrarian, he maintains. In
parties, he prefers the backstage and enjoys shunning the belles of the ball and
engaging his fellow average. It doesn't have to but if their tete-a-tete steals
the thunder, so much the merrier.
It's the symptom of an inferiority complex, we, his friends, have noted and the
depth of which, at times, makes him look gifted. He has applied this talent more
productively, e.g., in the stock market, and repeatedly let us down.
