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Reader question: Please explain “bell cow” in this quote: “They’re both good players, but Doug is our bell cow.” My comments: To paraphrase: Both are good players, but Doug is our leader. If the speaker were talking about two cows instead of two players, he would be saying something like both cows are top-notch, strong and healthy etc, but one is the head cow, the other is not. That’s the difference. The head cow, you see, is the undisputed leader of the herd. Where he (or she) goes, others follow. Bell cow is another variation of head cow. Cow owners often attach a ringing bell onto the neck of the head cow, hence the expression. That’s a human effort to make it easy for their leading cow. When he (or she) moves, the bell starts ringing, making it easier for others follow him by following the sound. The bell is especially useful if it is a large pack. Anyways, the bell cow is the leading animal, head of the herd. In the wild, leading wolves and lions are called the alpha male (because they are mostly male), same thing. As in our top example, bell cows are mostly used in sporting circles, referring to the best players on a team. Here are more media examples: 1. The San Diego Chargers left many people scratching their heads after signing running back Donald Brown to a three-year, $10.4 million contract at the start of free agency. The Chargers already have Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead sharing carries, so adding another running back was odd for a team tight on salary-cap space. | 
