About

"The bell doesn't dismiss you, I dismiss you" refers to a catchphrase spoken by teachers after the bell has rung but who have not yet concluded their lesson. The expression has become a frequent source of mockery and jokes in Vine and YouTube videos.

Origin

While origin of the expression is unknown, it first appeared online when Yahoo Answers user Evan^[1] asked, "Does the bell legally dismiss students?" On May 18th, 2010, user Fishguy answered the question with, "'The bell doesn't dismiss you, I dismiss you.' It's always been the rule as far back as I remember…"

Spread

On September 11th, 2014, Twitter user @tbhjuststop^[2] posted two pictures (shown below) of teachers blocking doorways under the caption "Teachers be like "the bell doesn't dismiss you I dismiss you." Within three years, the tweet had amassed more than 5,800 retweets and 7,600 likes.

Less than six months later, on February 25th, 2016, Twitter user @dooleyfunny^[3] posted a video of himself arguing with teachers under the caption "Teachers be like 'the bell don't dismiss you I do' 😴😴😴." Within two years, the post has recieved more than 24,100 retweets and 19,300 likes. When the YouTuber Afro Vines^[4] mirrored the video on YouTube less than a week later, the video received more than 130,000 views.

That month, two more videos entitled "The Bell Doesn't Dismiss You, I Dismiss You" appeared online. YouTuber 4YallEntertainment^[5] posted a comedy sketch (shown below, left) on March 16th and received more than 420,000 views. The other, a Vine from Jay Versace^[6] (shown below, right) posted in March 2015 has over 7,100 views on YouTube.

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References