Bell that didn't mean a lot to a dog (6)
I believe the answer is:
curfew
'bell that didn't' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to time as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'a lot to a dog' is the wordplay.
'a lot' becomes 'few' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to a' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'dog' becomes 'cur' (a cur is an aggressive or scruffy dog).
'few' put after 'cur' is 'CURFEW'.
'mean' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for curfew that I've seen before include "when it's time to go home" , "Night-time deadline" , "Restriction on being out after dark" , "Regulation requiring people to be indoors during certain hours" , "Early indoors imposed by military" .)