English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
In Italy bells stand for power and control. And bells, in one form or another, accompanied him throughout his life.
The article is talking about the prime minister of Italy. I am confused about the phrase "in one form or another", does it refer to "power and control"?
The expression in one form or another is a variation on the more common one in one way or another. So, the passage is saying that bells, in one way or another (in some way that is not stated), played a major part in his life. Maybe, he used bells as the doorbells for his door. Maybe, he had a bell hung up on the wall over his bed as a lucky charm. Maybe, he simply had bells as souvenirs in his house. Maybe, he worked as a production manager at a factory that manufactured bells. That's what it basically says.
