drop a bombshell
drop a bombshell
To reveal something that is very surprising or unexpected. Whoa, you can't just drop a bombshell like that and leave—I need details about your new boyfriend! When we got a tip that the newspaper was about to drop a bombshell about our candidate, we all wondered what information they could possibly have.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
drop a bombshell
Make an unexpected or shattering announcement. For example, Bill dropped a bombshell when he said he was quitting. This expression, which alludes to the destruction caused by a falling bomb, dates from World War I.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
drop a bombshell
COMMON If someone drops a bombshell, they suddenly announce a piece of bad news. Next day the bombshell was dropped on the front pages of the newspapers: the company had gone into voluntary liquidation. My ex-wife is on the phone and she drops a bombshell. Sue, our daughter, is leaving the country.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
drop a ˈbombshell
announce something which is unexpected and usually unpleasant: It was then that he dropped the bombshell — he wasn’t planning to come with us.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
drop a bombshell
verbSee drop a brick
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
drop a bombshell, to
To announce sensational news. This metaphor dates from World War I and likens the devastation caused by falling bombs to the shock of suddenly receiving unexpected tidings. “The letters do not drop any historical bombshells,” wrote a Manchester Guardian reviewer in 1928. See also bolt from the blue.
See also: drop
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer