Idioms

imagine

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(well,) imagine that!

An expression of surprise, astonishment, or disbelief, especially regarding some recent revelation. Bob: "You know, if you run your washing machine at night you can save a lot of money on your electric bill." John: "Well, imagine that! I've never heard of such a thing!" Four hundred people came to see our concert tonight? Imagine that! Wait, we don't have to work overtime for once? Well, imagine that!
See also: imagine

can you imagine

A phrase used to express the speaker's surprise, astonishment, or perhaps horror about something. And then Dave just stood up in the middle of the board meeting and started yelling at the CEO. Can you imagine? I turned away for one second and the baby crawled right into the mud. Can you imagine? A: "Is this your surfboard?" B: "Ha, can you imagine? No, it's my son's."
See also: can, imagine

imagine (someone or something) as (someone or something)

To envision or picture someone or something as somehow different than they currently are. I've only known Carly as a yoga teacher, so I really can't imagine her as an investment banker, but apparently, that's what she used to do. Come on, no negativity—the show hasn't even aired yet, so try to imagine it as a success. I'm sorry, but I think Joey's awful. Once someone's been a bully to you, it's hard to imagine them as anything else.
See also: imagine

you're imagining things

You're making things up or seeing things that are not real. You're imagining things—there's nothing going on between Bill and me.
See also: imagine, thing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Can you imagine?

Can you believe that?; Imagine that! She wore jeans to the wedding. Can you imagine? Billy was eating the houseplant! Can you imagine?
See also: can

envision someone as someone else

 and envision something as something else
to imagine or fantasize someone as someone else; to imagine or fantasize something as something else. I envision her as the next company president. We envisioned this as larger than it turned out to be.
See also: else, envision

Fancy that!

 and Imagine that!
I am very surprised to hear that.; That is hard to imagine or believe. Mary: My father was elected president of the board. Sally: Fancy that! Sue: This computer is ten times faster than the one we had before. Jane: Imagine that! Is it easy to operate? Sue: Of course not.
See also: fancy

imagine someone or something as someone or something

to think of someone or something as another person or another type of thing. I really can't imagine you as a sailor. When I imagine John as our new president, I really worry about our future as a company.
See also: imagine
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Fancy that!

exclam. Imagine that! Fancy that! There’s a piece of pie left in the fridge.
See also: fancy
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive
In fairness to the Post, not all of the "Imagine" editions focused on high-tech, high culture, museums and the arts community.
Postmortem on Post's 'Imagine'
But imagine it happening because the President wants it.
Death and taxes
The survey asked people to imagine robots had the emotional capacity and intelligence to form romantic relationships with humans and to consider whether they could imagine engaging in one.
An automated FRIENDSHIP; ONE IN EIGHT PEOPLE SAY THEY CAN IMAGINE MAKING FRIENDS WITH A ROBOT..
The IMAGINE show runs daily, every hour, from 7pm to 11pm.
IMAGINE Star Wars at Dubai Festival City
"Imagine Communications showed that they could do it today, and our proof-of-concept installation is now part of our long-term vision.
Abu Dhabi Media deploys DR with Imagine Communications
Imagine Communications' live production portfolio also supports 4K/UHD processing technologies, including up/down-conversion and the latest standards for delivering media over IP networks, high dynamic range (HDR) image quality and precision timing.
Delivering the future of TV today
Imagine Wood was established in 1999 with the purpose of making usable kitchen tools that would reintroduce natural beauty into the 21st century kitchen.
One of a Kind Show & Sale Will Feature Imagine Wood for the 10th Year
To accomplish this, the broadcaster turned to trusted technology partner Imagine Communications for a major upgrade of its master control facilities from ingest to playout.
Al Rayyan Chooses Imagine Communications to Advance End-to-End Master Control and Playout Operations
Imagine we lived in a world where nobody was brave enough to stand up for what they believed was right.
Things were not always as they are now
THE Microsoft Imagine Cup Committee has announced the names of the five shortlisted teams that will compete in the 'Bahrain Imagine Cup 2013 National Finals' at the end of this month.
A bundle of bright ideas are short-listed
At NAB 2014, Imagine Communications announced the acquisition of Digital Rapids, an award-winning innovator in IP and file-based media processing solutions and software-defined workflow management technologies.
Imagine acquires Digital Rapids; demos cloud solution
Microsoft announces that Tamkeen has become a strategic partner of its Imagine Cup 2013 Competition in Bahrain, inviting all students ages 16 to 23 to partake in the world's premier student technology competition.
Microsoft and Tamkeen ink partnership
Imagine sitting at a friend's house, watching the president address the nation after a week long crisis, with his supporters just the night before opening fire on civilian protesters in Heliopolis in horrifying clashes that spanned the whole day.
Imagine
18 October 2012 -- New York-based portfolio and risk management solutions provider Imagine Software said it has launched a new risk aggregation platform.
-Imagine Software launches new risk aggregation platform
Imagine living in a small town called Copenhagen, Denmark, where people walk to the market, cafes and shops, and children walk to school.
Number the Stars
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