Atits core, an expression is a bit of JavaScript code that produces a value. For example, these are all expressions: 1 → produces 1. "hello" → produces "hello". 5 * 10 → produces 50. num > 100 → produces either true or false.
Surprise, anger, happiness, and sadness. These are core human emotions that have spawned many idioms in the English language. Today we will focus on surprise. Idioms for surprise can be used when we are feeling shocked. Examples include out of the blue, blows my mind, and taken aback. They are all slightly different in meaning and usage, so let’s look at 18 spoken English idioms today! What blows your mind? Have you ever been stopped dead in your tracks? Table of 18 idioms for surprise Out of the blueBlows my mindTaken abackEye-openingRaised eyebrowsDouble whammyAstoundedRather disconcertedI’m speechlessShaken upI thought as muchWonders never ceaseCome as no surpriseCome as a surpriseI was so surprised thatStopped me dead in my tracksPull out of the bagBrim with + feelingIdioms for surprise Idioms for surprise & how to speak English fluently Many students of mine ask me how to speak English fluently. While truthfully it is a long journey, with many different aspects to master, we can use these idioms for surprise to contribute toward our goal of speaking English fluently. They aren’t a “silver bullet” or anything like that, but if we can remember all of them over time, then our speaking and listening will become more advanced. Some of today’s idioms are very common, such as “blows my mind”, and Eye-opening”, while others are less common, like “double-whammy”, and “pull out of the bag” Let’s find out how to use them in English conversation! Related I wrote an article on dog idioms – level up your English vocabulary and check it out! Out of the blue The first of our idioms for surprise It may come as a surprise but… When people say something came out of the blue, they mean that it was unexpected or sudden. Usually, we are shocked – we wonder “What just happened?” An alternative saying is a bolt out of the blue. Below is an example sentence. I hadn’t seen Max for eight years, but out of the blue, he stopped by yesterday! What a pleasant surprise! Blows my mind An explosive addition to our idioms for surprise This idiom means we feel very shocked. When somebody says “it blows my mind”, it means that they can’t fathom why something happened. Also worthy of note here is the past tense version, it blew my mind. Naturally, being in the past we would use this as an expression of surprise for something that already happened. It blows my mind how people carry on smoking despite the health risks Taken aback I was taken aback by… Taken about means that we are so surprised that we not literally move backward in shock. It is often followed with the preposition by. Below you will find an example sentence. I was taken aback by Ophelia’s offensive language. Disconcerted to be rather disconcerted To be disconcerted is to be confused and slightly upset about an event. It is commonly used as an expression of disbelief. I felt rather disconcerted about losing my job in the middle of a recession. Eye opening one of our more pleasant idioms for surprise If something is eye opening, then it is enlightening. Something surprisingly happened, that you could learn from. Martin’s speech was eye-opening. At first, I was shocked, but actually, his comments made complete sense in the end. Raised eyebrows We have raised eyebrows when we’re feeling surprised or something happened that was is an example There were raised eyebrows all around when Michael announced he was quitting his job to become a monk! Double whammy This expression is used when not one, but two impactful or surprising things happen. Double whammy is often preceded by the term “hit by”. He was hit by a double whammy. You can find an example below. Theo was hit with a double whammy this week. Not only did he fail his test, but he also got evicted from his student accommodation. Bad luck! Astounded I was astounded by the view While astounded is not an idiom on its own, it is often combined with other words to make it similar to an idiomatic phrase. Some common combinations include absolutely astounded, completely astounded, and totally astounded. That sunset last night left me completely astounded. It was amazing! I’m speechless This is a very literal expression. Being speechless means we are unable to say anything. If we are so shocked or astounded then we may feel speechless! Liams behavior left me speechless. I couldn’t believe anyone could be so rude to a schoolteacher. Shaken up one of our idioms for surprise, and not a smoothie! If we feel shaken up, then we might well be just like a smoothie! We have been shaken up and down, left and right and left feeling all nervous. Common situations where one might feel shaken up include being robbed, having a big argument with someone, and also witnessing something terrible like an accident. I was shaken up after the car crash. I thought as much This expression actually refers to a lack of surprise, rather than being one of our idioms for surprise. When something disappointing happens, but it was expected, then we can say I thought as much. Here’s an example sentence. Christian lost his job? I thought as much, he was looking down all day yesterday. Wonders never cease This is an ironic phrase. It is used when someone completes an action, finally. We’ve been waiting ages for them to do it and have grown slightly despondent. He was an example David cleaned his bedroom? Well, wonders never cease! Come as no surprise Come as no surprise is often used in a sentence where we want to express lack of surprise. It should come as no surprise that it is rather cold in Britain during the winter. Come as a surprise This is the exact opposite to the last expression come as no surprise. English speakers say this when they feel something was surprising. It came as a surprise to hear that Emma and Daniel were getting divorced. I was so surprised that This expression is used together with a verb. An action follows the emotion of feeling surprise. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate this I was so surprised that I stopped what I was doing. They were so surprised at the sudden snowstorm that they stopped working. Pull out of the bag one of our more traditional idioms for surprise When we pull something out of the bag, it means we produce some kind of impressive results for people to see. It is often surprising. Here is an example The soccer team pulled three goals out of the bag, and amazed the audience. Stopped me dead in my tracks If someone says to you that somethings stopped them dead in their tracks, they mean that they froze because of shock. Something which does this could include bad news, shocking news, or some kind of unbelievable site like a sick animal, or an accident. Let’s have a look at an example The sight of the company president entering the office stopped me dead in my tracks. I don’t want to meet him because I hear he is intimidating! Brim with not precisely an idiom for surprise, but close! This verb is followed by a noun such as excitement or energy. We use this to describe a person. He was an example The school students were brimming with excitement before the school trip. Another word for surprised Surprised is such a huge, common, and important word in the English language. It should come as no surprise that there are countless other words to show we feel surprised. Let’s have a look at some of them in this table AmazedBewilderedDisappointedShockedAwedAstoundedAstonishedStupefiedOther words for surprised Here are some example sentences using other words for surprised I was amazed by my English score! I felt bewildered by my new job requirements. I was disappointed that my team couldn’t win the World Cup! I was shocked that I couldn’t run as fast as when I was younger! I was awed that she got into such a great university. I was astounded at his stupidity. I was astonished that you finished that plate of pasta so quickly! The teacher was stupefied by how little the student actually knew, considering he had studied for one year. Did these idioms for surprise leave you speechless? Today we have looked at 18 idioms from surprise. We can use expressions like “left me speechless” to signify great shock, or “taken aback” to demonstrate slightly lesser shock. Also, we have seen example sentences so that we know how to use them in spoken English. I am sure that if you review all this information your English vocabulary can get a level up today!
Lotof example sentences with the word this is not surprising. bab.la - Online dictionaries, vocabulary, conjugation, grammar Toggle navigation share
See definition of surprising on for surprisingSee also synonyms for surprisinglyOn this page you'll find 53 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to surprising, such as amazing, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, shocking, and for surprisingMost relevantHow to use surprising in a sentenceYou can use it to come up with powerful, popular keywords to boost traffic in surprising and positive surprising as any of them is the story of just how WD-40 came to be, and how it became a staple in garages across even less surprising in the case of Audi’s new e-tron sedan, which draws heavily on tech and designs from the speedy Porsche it’s not surprising that humans are encountering these animals within city limits more and how many different silos exist organizationally at agencies, it isn’t surprising that synthesizing all of the data that exists and reporting on it is hugely is especially striking, though hardly surprising, in the case of Priebus, Mr. yet as Robert Ward discovered, Marvin—for all of his larger-than-life machismo—was surprising in real was not wearing hejab but more surprising that that, is married to an was very blunt and surprising to hear from any official in charge of an aviation gross abuse should be among the products of such all-prior-bets-are-off decision making is hardly is not surprising after this to learn that some children are slow in seizing the representative character of is given in the next few pages, and it will be found to be easy of comprehension and interesting to a surprising guests relished it greatly and Alila's father was praised very much for surprising them with this yet there still remains a superstitious belief in prayer, and most surprising are some of its though he had committed great faults, he had shown a surprising ability in extricating himself from their of the DayJun 16, 2023Choose the synonym for ponderrevelmullcovet
3Fear. The facial expression of fear is characterized by widened eyes and eyebrows slanted upward. The mouth is usually open to some degree as well. Fear, like surprise, is closely rooted to instinct and indicates a desire to avoid or escape something. A scientific study was done in 2008 specifically to study the fearful face. I was recently surprised to learn that surprised is a nemesis for many writers. It appears with a surprising frequency in surprisingly many WIPs. No worries The Surprise EMTs are en route. Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations Rather than say characters are surprised, you could show their emotional state with beats like the following. blinking breathless voice clutching one’s chest with one or both hands covering one’s ears with hands feeble voice gaping jaw hiding one’s face with hands or hair legs that tremble pressing a hand against one’s chest, with fingers splayed wide pressing fingers against one’s gaping mouth quick flash of a frown on one’s face quickly elevating one’s eyebrows and accompanying them with protuberant “flashbulb” eyes raised and curved brows raising one’s chin raising one’s eyebrows shaky voice sudden audible inhalation through one’s mouth touching one’s face or lips with fingers widening one’s eyes so much that the whites show wrinkles across the forehead To find more examples, search Google Images for body language surprised, or consult a body language dictionary. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Dialogue Can you see the surprise in the paragraphs below? “I swear, Marvin’s jaw dropped two feet when he heard Lucy was coming back to town.” “When I came around the corner and spotted the cougar, I thought I was hallucinating. A cougar in LA?” “Who could have known that a brand new tire would blow up the first time I took the car out? Wow! That’s all I can say. Wow.” “You gotta be kidding. How do you expect me to cram all these suitcases into the trunk?” “Ow! That’s hot.” “Why are you calling me at 2 “Mother! Is that your luggage? I thought you were overseas.” Texts When people are surprised, they tend to use shortcuts in texts — avoiding numbers, symbols, and punctuation. Here are a few that might suit your WIP. AYS are you serious? FAB fabulous FCOL for crying out loud HFAC holy flipping animal crackers IDBI I don’t believe it LTNS long time no see OB oh brother OMG omigosh OMGYGTBK omigosh you got to be kidding SMHID scratching my head in disbelief SU shut up [an expression of incredulity] TGTBT too good to be true TMTH too much to handle UGTBK you’ve got to be kidding WWNC will wonders never cease YGTBKM you’ve got to be kidding me YWHOL yelling woo hoo out loud Social Media The internet is swarming with an ever-changing glut of social media outlets, all with their own lingo and abbreviations. Learn the vernacular if you introduce one of these sites to your narrative — or invent a new social network. Who knows, your creativity could catch the notice of a tech guru and result in the launch of yet another way for people to spend their time. Good? Bad? Depends on your point of view. Adjectives and Adjectival Phrases Consider intensity of emotion when replacing surprised. An awestruck character feels more intensely than one who is startled. A to G agape, aghast, agog, amazed, astonished, astounded, awed, awestruck, blown away, boggled, bowled over, bug-eyed, confounded, dazed, dumbfounded, filled with awe, filled with wonder, flabbergasted, floored, gobsmacked H to W horror-struck, incredulous, jolted, openmouthed, overcome, overwhelmed, shaken, shell-shocked, shocked, speechless, staggered, startled, stunned, stupefied, taken aback, thunderstruck, unnerved, wide-eyed, wonderstruck, wordless Similes and Metaphors A character’s state of surprise could be compared to, contrasted with, or portrayed as [amazing, rare, uncommon] as an honest politician dazed as a frog about to be swallowed by a snake like a bat blinded by the sun like a deer mesmerized by headlights like a kid who receives a computer instead of a baseball mitt as a birthday present like a shark chomping on a leg and discovering it’s covered by chainmail like an infant’s first glimpse of the world outside its mother’s body like the taste of coffee when one expects tea unexpected as a rare steak when a character orders it well-done unexpected as snow in [a summer month] unusual as [booze at an AA meeting, rain in the Sahara Desert] – The Versatility of Verbs and Phrasal Verbs In your determination to decrease overuse of surprised, you might decide to rely on one of the following, many of which are cliché or idiomatic. Although trite phrases function well in certain types of dialogue, avoid them in serious narrative. appear [all of a sudden, out of left field, out of nowhere] blindside someone blow someone away blow someone’s mind bowl someone over burst in on someone bushwhack someone catch someone [in the act, napping, off balance, off guard, red-handed, unawares] cause someone to [be speechless, do a double-take, jump out of their skin, root to the spot] drop a bombshell on someone fill someone with [awe, wonder] knock someone [for six, down/over with a feather] knock someone’s socks off knock the stuffing out of someone leave someone [aghast, open-mouthed] make someone’s jaw drop raise someone’s eyebrows render someone speechless set someone back on their heels shake someone up stop someone dead in their tracks strike someone [dumb, with amazement, with awe, with wonder] take someone [aback, unawares] take someone’s breath away throw someone [a curveball, for a loop] More Verbs and Phrasal Verbs Instead of surprise as a verb, try one of the following. A to W alarm, amaze, astonish, astound, awe, bedazzle, benumb, bewilder, cause [amazement, astonishment, incredulity, shock], confound, daze, dazzle, disturb, dumbfound, electrify, flabbergast, floor, gobsmack, jar, jolt, nonplus, rock, scandalize, shake up, shell-shock, shock, stagger, startle, stun, stupefy, wow Nouns Instead of relying on the noun surprise to refer to a character’s emotional state, you could substitute one of the following words or phrases. Pay attention to connotation and degree of emotion. For example, a hiccup implies different circumstances than a kick in the face. A to M amazement, astonishment, awe, bewilderment, body blow, bolt from/out of the blue, bombshell, conversation stopper, curveball, doozy, epiphany, eureka moment, eye-opener, a first, glitch, hiccup, incomprehension, incredulity, jaw dropper, jolt, kick [in the face, up the backside], kicker, manna from heaven, marvel, miracle O to Z one for the books, puzzlement, revelation, rude awakening, setback, shock, shocker, source of amazement, spectacle, stunner, stupefaction, thunderbolt, twist, unexpected revelation, unforeseen event, whammy, wonder, wonderment, wrinkle, zinger Props Well-chosen props augment a story by sparking new twists or subplots. Would one of the following suit your narrative? DNA results that show a character is related to _____ an empty box of chocolates a failing grade on an essay or exam firecrackers a flat tire flowers from an anonymous admirer a free upgrade to first-class on an overseas flight a “gunshot” that turns out to be [an exploding baked potato, lightning, a vehicle collision] a horse that shies at _____ a “male” dog that has a litter of puppies a nest of fire ants a one-star review on a book a parking ticket a pearl in an oyster someone is eating a phone call from an ex who hasn’t called the character in years a porch pirate who turns out to be [the character’s ex, a homeless person, a raccoon, a raven, a relative] a robbery where only [something cheap and/or insignificant] is stolen a slip and fall on the ice a speeding ticket a two-headed chicken the turndown of a marriage proposal Are You Interested in More Word Lists and Writing Tips? If you haven’t done so already, please subscribe to my blog. The link will take you to the subscription widget at the top left of this post. I usually post two to five times monthly, and you can discontinue your subscription at any time. –Someof these phrases are deeply rooted in history, from medieval battlefields to slavery; these are phrases we use in this day and age that have indeed come a long way, and from very dark places
Are you looking for some useful surprise idioms? You are in the right place. In our next post, we will look at 21 useful surprise idioms. 1. Out Of The Blue Meaning Something sudden and completely In A Sentence Joe announced out of the blue that he was moving out of state. 2. To Do A Double Take Meaning To take a second look at something usually because you are surprised or In A Sentence John did a double-take as he saw his girlfriend walk into the room all dressed up. 3. To Be Taken by Surprise Meaning To be startled by someone or something; to catch someone off guard. Something happens when you are not ready for In A Sentence She was completely taken by surprise by how many people showed up at the party. 4. To Be Caught Off Guard Meaning To be taken by In A Sentence Jessica caught him off guard when she told her manager that she wanted to quit her job. 5. To Stop Dead In One’s Tracks Meaning To instantly stop moving after hearing or seeing something In A Sentence He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the bad news about Shirley. 6. To Drop A Bombshell Meaning To reveal something that is a surprise or In A Sentence Jason just dropped a bombshell and told everyone he was getting married. I didn’t even know he was dating. 7. Element Of Surprise Meaning Doing something secretly to catch someone off guard or to surprise In A Sentence We need the element of surprise to plan the party without her finding out. 8. One’s Jaw Drop Meaning Someone opens their mouth because they are greatly surprised or heard something In A Sentence Our jaws dropped when we found out how much money he was making every month. 9. To Be Struck Dumb Meaning To not be able to speak after hearing something surprising or In A Sentence He was struck dumb when he found out how Sarah dumped her boyfriend. 10. Rooted To The Spot Meaning To be unable to move because of hearing or seeing something In A Sentence Julie stood rooted to the spot when he told her the bad news about her mom. 11. To Knock Someone Down With A Feather Meaning used to describe someone who is In A Sentence You could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard that she won the contest. 12. To Come As No Surprise Meaning Something that you know will happen. Use In A Sentence It came as no surprise that Gary quit his job today. 13. To Knock Someone’s Socks Off Meaning To surprise someone; to startled them. It can also mean to impress In A Sentence The bad news nearly knocked her socks off. 14. Words Fail Me Meaning an expression used to describe someone that can no longer talk because they are so surprised by something that they can’t think of good words to describe how they In A Sentence How do you feel about the good news? Words fail me! 15. To Raise Someone’s Eyebrows Meaning To cause others to be surprised by saying or doing something In A Sentence He definitely raised some eyebrows when he walked into the school with blue hair. 16. A Bolt From The Blue Meaning Something unexpected or In A Sentence His decision to move back home was a bolt from the blue. 17. An Eye Opener Meaning The idea of widening your eyes because of hearing or seeing something surprising/ In A Sentence Hearing about how Mario got in a car accident after work on Friday was a real eye-opener. 18. Blown Away Meaning used to describe when a person is thoroughly impressed by someone or something. Usually when it is not In A Sentence I was blown away by how good he did on his speech. 19. To Take Someone’s Breath Away Meaning To shock a person with feelings of excitement, surprise, or some other In A Sentence It took her breath away when she saw her daughter walking down the aisle in that beautiful dress. 20. One Can Hardly Believe One’s Eyes Meaning Something so surprising or so shocking that you can’t believe it is In A Sentence I can hardly believe my eyes. Joe and Stephanie are here to see me. 21. Well, I’ll Be A Monkey’s Uncle Meaning An expression of surprise or In A Sentence Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, Jessica convinced her parents to come to the wedding. There you have it! 21 different idioms to use to express feelings of surprise of amazement. Did we miss one? Please share your comments below.
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this is an expression of surprising
