lo and behold
suddenly and surprisingly
TRANSLATION
lo and behold = Und siehe da! und auf einmal....! (völlig unerwartet) --- How important is this English word? lo and behold: 3,000,000 Google Hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
But the day is fast approaching when all kinds of thriving (gedeihend) companies will ditch (loswerden) their dividends and use the savings to buy back stock to boost their share price. Specialty toolmaker SPX Corp., in Muskegon, Michigan, made the move last April. LO AND BEHOLD, the stock has been rising twice as fast as the Dow.
(Time Magazine)
(Time Magazine)
Did you
know?
lo and behold
phrase
- Something that you say when you tell someone about something surprising that happened.
(Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 1998)
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WORD ORIGIN
Lo and behold is frequently used in Biblical expressions as a way of saying “look!”
Lo is thought to derive from la, an Old English expression of surprise, grief or joy. Behold, meaning to look at something, comes from the Old English bihaldan (give regard to, hold in view). The phrase meanwhile is more often used to express surprise.
(adapted from the Online Etymology Dictionary and the Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology)
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
“I was still in the office at 8.00 p.m. working on my presentation when, lo and behold, my boss walked in and asked me what I was doing.”
phrase
- Something that you say when you tell someone about something surprising that happened.
(Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 1998)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Lo and behold is frequently used in Biblical expressions as a way of saying “look!”
Lo is thought to derive from la, an Old English expression of surprise, grief or joy. Behold, meaning to look at something, comes from the Old English bihaldan (give regard to, hold in view). The phrase meanwhile is more often used to express surprise.
(adapted from the Online Etymology Dictionary and the Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
“I was still in the office at 8.00 p.m. working on my presentation when, lo and behold, my boss walked in and asked me what I was doing.”
