English By Day

Everything you need to know about learning english

21 Surprise Idioms And Phrases (Meaning & Examples)

by

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.

Surprise Idioms

21 Suprise Idioms And Phrases (Meaning & Examples)

1. Out Of The Blue

  • Meaning: Something sudden and completely unexpected.
  • Use 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 shocked.
  • Use 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 it.
  • Use 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 surprise.
  • Use 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 surprising.
  • Use 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 unexpected.
  • Use 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 them.
  • Use 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 unexpected.
  • Use 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 shocking.
  • Use 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 surprising.
  • Use In A Sentence: Julie stood rooted to the spot when he told her the bad news about her mom.
knock someone down with a feather - surprise idioms

11. To Knock Someone Down With A Feather

  • Meaning: used to describe someone who is surprised.
  • Use 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 someone.
  • Use 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 feel.
  • Use 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 strange.
  • Use In A Sentence: He definitely raised some eyebrows when he walked into the school with blue hair.
a bolt from the blue - surprise idioms

16. A Bolt From The Blue

  • Meaning: Something unexpected or surprising.
  • Use In A Sentence: His decision to move back home was a bolt from the blue.
eye opener - idioms about surprise

17. An Eye Opener

  • Meaning: The idea of widening your eyes because of hearing or seeing something surprising/unexpected.
  • Use 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 expected.
  • Use 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 emotion.
  • Use 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 real.
  • Use In A Sentence: I can hardly believe my eyes. Joe and Stephanie are here to see me.
I'll be a monkey's uncle

21. Well, I’ll Be A Monkey’s Uncle

  • Meaning: An expression of surprise or amazement.
  • Use 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.