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!
Idioms for surprise
| Out of the blue | Blows my mind | Taken aback |
| Eye-opening | Raised eyebrows | Double whammy |
| Astounded | Rather disconcerted | I’m speechless |
| Shaken up | I thought as much | Wonders never cease |
| Come as no surprise | Come as a surprise | I was so surprised that |
| Stopped me dead in my tracks | Pull out of the bag | Brim with + feeling |
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
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.
Astounded
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!
Taken aback
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 inappropriate.Here 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!
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’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!
Liam‘s behavior left me speechless. I couldn’t believe anyone could be so rude to a schoolteacher.
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!
Stopped me dead in my tracks
One of the more interesting expressions of shock, 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!
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.
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
| Amazed | Bewildered | Disappointed | Shocked |
| Awed | Astounded | Astonished | Stupefied |
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!