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Surprise   Listen
noun
Surprise  n.  
1.
The act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise.
2.
The state of being surprised, or taken unawares, by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen; emotion excited by what is sudden and strange; a suddenly excited feeling of wonder or astonishment. "Pure surprise and fear Made me to quit the house."
3.
Anything that causes such a state or emotion.
4.
A dish covered with a crust of raised paste, but with no other contents. (Obs.)
Surprise party, a party of persons who assemble by mutual agreement, and without invitation, at the house of a common friend. (U.S.)
Synonyms: Wonder; astonishment; amazement.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Surprise" Quotes from Famous Books



... hast. 'Tis here thy love would tend." He drew a richly-set miniature from his bosom. It was mounted in so peculiar a fashion that Rodolf started back with the first emotion of surprise. The miniature was his own; a gem newly from the artist, and which he had left, as he thought, in safe custody a short time ago. The voice again whispered in his ...
— Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2) • John Roby

... disappointed. Just then we observed a strange movement among the men on the raft, who, after standing for some seconds in attitudes that betokened surprise, and with voices and gestures that confirmed it, were seen hastily renewing their efforts to put themselves at a still greater distance from the wreck; and not only hastily, but in a manner that bespoke some degree ...
— Ran Away to Sea • Mayne Reid

... de Tilly and Mademoiselle de Repentigny," said the Governor, hat in hand, "welcome to Quebec. It does not surprise, but it does delight me beyond measure to meet you here at the head of your loyal censitaires. But it is not the first time that the ladies of the House of Tilly have turned out to defend the King's forts against ...
— The Golden Dog - Le Chien d'Or • William Kirby

... managed, at any rate, to surprise me very much, your Grace," I said. "I am eager to receive employment of any sort. May I ask what it was that you ...
— The Betrayal • E. Phillips Oppenheim

... replied, lifting her eyebrows with an air of puzzled surprise. "Why, Mr. Ellis! What could have put such a notion into your head? Oh dear, I think I hear Dodie,—I know you'll excuse me, Mr. Ellis, won't you? Sister Olivia will be back in a moment; and we're expecting Aunt Polly this afternoon,—if you'll stay awhile she'll be ...
— The Marrow of Tradition • Charles W. Chesnutt

... become skilful in the art of poisoning, she was at this time young, and unpractised in crime, and received its first suggestions with the horror which it naturally inspires. She had sought for pleasure only in the society of Glinski; it was a cruel disappointment, it was a frightful surprise, to find herself thrust suddenly, with unsandaled feet, on the thorny path of ambition. She sank back on the couch where they had both been sitting, and, hiding her face in both her hands, remained in that position while the duke continued ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845. • Various

... feet into the air to avoid the impulsive bite of a sabre-tooth tiger, or cheered the hearts of grave elders searching for inter-tribal talent by his lightning sprints in front of excitable mammoths. Everybody liked Ug, and it was a matter of surprise to his friends that he had ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, January 7, 1914 • Various

... Don't you go gettin' scared at—the thing that's comin'—t' you. 'Tis nothin' t' fear," he went on, gloriously confident. "'Tis not hard, I'm sure—the Lard's too kind for that. He just lets us think it is, so He can give us a lovely surprise, when the time comes. Oh, no, 'tis not hard! 'Tis but like wakin' up from a troubled dream. 'Tis like wakin' t' the sunlight of a new, clear day. Ah, 'tis a pity us all can't wake with you t' the beauty o' the morning! But the dear Lard is kind. There comes an end t' all the dreamin'. He takes ...
— Doctor Luke of the Labrador • Norman Duncan

... complete surprise to Sharlee. For these nine months, her suggestion that he should call upon her had lain utterly neglected. Since the Reunion she had seen him but four times, twice on the street, and once at each of their offices, ...
— Queed • Henry Sydnor Harrison

... come with circumstance. Be patient! Something must still be to the moment left. Yet, while by night we hold our Diet here, The morning, see, has on the mountain tops Kindled her glowing beacon. Let us part, Ere the broad sun surprise us. ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. III • Kuno Francke (Editor-in-Chief)

... said my Mother. "You mustn't tell each other what you decide. That would take half the fun and the surprise out of ...
— Fairy Prince and Other Stories • Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

... effect of communicating to his manner a sort of contemptuous indifference toward his conductor, to whom he ceased to talk. Moser showed neither surprise nor pain and set to whistling an air, interrupted from time to time by some brief word of encouragement to ...
— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 6 • Charles H. Sylvester

... mayhap, expect to surprise something of the kind out of his slowly-moving uncle, but the only answer was a strongly accentuated "Indeed! I thought I had told you both that I would have none of this foolery. Esther, I am ashamed of ...
— Magnum Bonum • Charlotte M. Yonge

... crept within, sat her softly on the bed-side, and waited some time till the knight should awake. After lurking awhile under the clothes considering what it all meant, Gawayne unlocked his eyelids, and put on a look of surprise, at the same time making the sign of the cross, as if afraid of some hidden danger (ll. 1178-1207). "Good morrow, sir," said that fair lady, "ye are a careless sleeper to let one enter thus. I shall bind you in your bed, of that be ye sure." "Good morrow," quoth Gawayne, "I shall act ...
— Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight - An Alliterative Romance-Poem (c. 1360 A.D.) • Anonymous

... instruction. They gave us, as it were, an epitome of the progress which the arts had long been making in Greece. For if the drawing of a simple line, of such a master as Protogenes, who was conceived by many to hold the first pencil in the world, was surpassed, to his great surprise, by another, how high must refinement have been raised by the exertions of the artists in a period ...
— The Life, Studies, And Works Of Benjamin West, Esq. • John Galt

... is to always give the right answer to this question, but the book will not help if it is hidden away in a table drawer and seldom used. Keep it where it can be seen so you will remember to ask it questions before every meal. The result will be a surprise in delightful variety, and also in the reduced cost of ...
— The New Dr. Price Cookbook • Anonymous

... The surprise was too great; I could neither sustain nor conceal it. Stumbling slowly back, I murmured something about having believed it to be her cousin; and then, conscious only of the one wish to fly a presence I dared not encounter in my present ...
— The Leavenworth Case • Anna Katharine Green

... Antoinette wondered at nothing now; she had witnessed the falling away of so many friends, she had been forsaken by so many who were closely associated with her, and who were indebted to her, that it caused her no surprise that the young man who hardly knew her, who had admired her in a fit of youthful rapture, had done like all the rest in joining the ...
— Marie Antoinette And Her Son • Louise Muhlbach

... the name of abaca, to such a degree of fineness, that they afterwards convert them into textures equal to the best muslins of Bengal. The beauty and evenness of their embroideries and open work excite surprise; in short, the damask table-cloths, ornamental weaving, textures of cotton and palm-fibres, intermixed with silk, and manufactured in the above-mentioned provinces, clearly prove how much the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, in natural abilities and dexterity, resemble the other ...
— The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes • Fedor Jagor; Tomas de Comyn; Chas. Wilkes; Rudolf Virchow.

... wait and see," he answered. "Crabtree is going to wake up to a big surprise some morning—and when he does, well, maybe he'll stop chewing his victuals ...
— The Mystery at Putnam Hall - The School Chums' Strange Discovery • Arthur M. Winfield

... surprise for Jack Halliday. He noticed that the faces of the nineteen chief citizens and their wives bore that expression of peaceful and holy happiness again. He could not understand it, neither was he able to invent any remarks about ...
— The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg • Mark Twain

... speculation was confined to the rank and file of the outfit. The clearer vision of the leaders searched their own understanding of the position. It was pretty definitely certain there would be no attack in force. The enemy had hoped for a victory as the result of surprise and overwhelming odds. It had failed. It had failed disastrously. The Indians were supposed to be five hundred strong. They had lost a fifth of their force without making any apparent impression on the defenders. There could be no surprise on the second night. It would take longer ...
— The Triumph of John Kars - A Story of the Yukon • Ridgwell Cullum

... the passion of my love, Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith: It shall become thee well to act my woes; She will attend it better in thy youth Than in a nuncio ...
— Twelfth Night; or, What You Will • William Shakespeare [Collins edition]

... international distrust, if you will, by establishing a neutral zone ten miles broad along the frontier free of all defences. Let the Grays guard five miles of it on the Brown side and the Browns five miles on the Gray side, as insurance against surprise or the ambitions of demagogues. What an example for those other nations beyond Europe, as yet lacking your organization and progress, whom you must aid and direct! What a return to you in both moral and commercial profit! Keep armed, ...
— The Last Shot • Frederick Palmer

... devoted to an excursion to Aurora Peak. The weather was, to our surprise, quite clear and calm. Armed with the paraphernalia for a day's tour, we set off down the slope. Correll put the primus stove and the inner pot of the cooker in the ready food-bag, McLean slung on his camera ...
— The Home of the Blizzard • Douglas Mawson

... corner of the gallery I one day saw her, when she thought I was out and all quiet, with her ear at the keyhole of papa's study, as we used to call the sitting-room next his bed-room. Her eyes were turned in the direction of the stairs, from which only she apprehended surprise. Her great mouth was open, and her eyes absolutely goggled with eagerness. She was devouring all that was passing there. I drew back into the shadow with a kind of disgust and horror. She was transformed into a great gaping reptile. I felt that I could have thrown something at ...
— Uncle Silas - A Tale of Bartram-Haugh • J.S. Le Fanu

... else on the top story to excite Annie's surprise, but she was glad when Lucy secured the box and led ...
— Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir • Mary Catherine Crowley

... the book will succeed. I wonder how a man feels who can do things, not merely dream them. I expected he would laugh when I told him the plot, especially when I told whom the woman was; but he didn't say a word. He thinks, as I do, that it would be better to leave the story's connection with her a surprise until the book is published. He is coming up here to work to-morrow. "Keep a plot warm," he says: "especially one with a love in it." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, so peculiarly I hardly knew ...
— A Breath of Prairie and other stories • Will Lillibridge

... is the chairman. You never can tell what sort of surprise is in store for you. In a Massachusetts town last winter I was hailed on the stage by one of his tribe, a gaunt, funereal sort of man, who wanted to know what he ...
— The Making of an American • Jacob A. Riis

... army, having gained the Colorado, crossed in rafts, while another portion moved upon San Felipe; and then a portion of the concentrated forces went to Fort Bend. From here Santa Anna pushed on, through the rain and mud, to Harrisburg, hoping to surprise the town; but, when he arrived, the ...
— For the Liberty of Texas • Edward Stratemeyer

... did he find himself in undisturbed solitude, than he ran rapidly over the events of the day in his recollection, and to his surprise found that his own precarious fate, and even the death of Piercie Shafton, made less impression on him than the singularly bold and determined conduct of his companion, Henry Warden. Providence, which suits ...
— The Monastery • Sir Walter Scott

... ill-willers affirm, if they did not after the battle fly away, cutting their cables and giving themselves to the wind, to carry them as far as might be from the Attic coast, but having a shield lifted up to them as a signal of treason, made straight with their fleet for Athens, in hope to surprise it, and having at leisure doubled the point of Sunium, were discovered above the port Phalerum, so that the chief and most illustrious men, despairing to save the city would have betrayed it. For a little after, acquitting the Alcmaeonidae, ...
— Essays and Miscellanies - The Complete Works Volume 3 • Plutarch

... several hours, an absence to which his wife and household grew gradually accustomed, he ended by being there all day. But—unexpected shock!—Madame Claes learned through the humiliating medium of some women friends, who showed surprise at her ignorance, that her husband constantly imported instruments of physical science, valuable materials, books, machinery, etc., from Paris, and was on the highroad to ruin in search of the Philosopher's Stone. She ought, so her ...
— The Alkahest • Honore de Balzac

... contemplating this beautiful gateway, which was glimmering in the bright moonlight, a tall figure suddenly darted from behind one of the buttresses of the chapel, and seized his left arm with an iron grasp. The suddenness of the attack took him by surprise; but he instantly recovered himself, plucked away his arm, and, drawing his sword, made a pass at his assailant, who, however, avoided the thrust, and darted with inconceivable swiftness through the archway leading to the cloisters. Though Henry followed as quickly as he could, he lost sight ...
— Windsor Castle • William Harrison Ainsworth

... of his wrecked philosophy to prevent him from asking himself consciously how it would end. But at the same time he could not help being temperamentally, from long habit and from set purpose, a spectator still, perhaps a little less naive but (as he discovered with some surprise) not much more far sighted than the common run of men. Like the rest of us who act, all he could say to himself, with ...
— Victory • Joseph Conrad

... only a confused view of bright stuffs—white, blue, and red—and the shining of metal objects, in the midst of a crowd partly concealed by the dust they raised on their way. Very much to my surprise I found that they were advancing along a wide road, paved in a peculiar manner, for I had never seen anything of this kind among the heathen tribes of the Pacific. Their dresses, too, though for the most part mere wraps, ...
— In the Wrong Paradise • Andrew Lang

... get any. Now it so happened that the timothy was on the front end of the field, and it got the manure. The clover on the back half didn't get any. It came about in the simple way I told you of. Naturally I didn't expect much corn where I hadn't put any manure, but what was my surprise to find it was just about as good on that clover end of the field without any dressing as on the timothy end with what I had been able to put on. It is only right I should say there wasn't much of the ...
— The Story of the Soil • Cyril G. Hopkins

... faint expression of surprise dawning in her impassive face Mrs. Baron continued: "Yes, old enough to remember yourself and not to be compelled to recognize the duties of approaching womanhood. I truly begin to feel that I must forbid these visits ...
— Miss Lou • E. P. Roe

... "that my observations surprise you: the surprise will vanish on reflection. It has been said by another poet, more reflective than Ovid, that 'the world is governed by love and hunger.' But hunger certainly has the lion's share of the government; and if a poet is really to do what ...
— Kenelm Chillingly, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... serving God You sweep a room or turn a sod, And suddenly to your surprise You hear the whirr of seraphim And ?uid you're under God's own eyes And building ...
— Defenders of Democracy • Militia of Mercy

... once purposely mentioned your brother's name to Sir Arthur, when Frank was present; in some manner to prepare and guard him against surprise. But I could not but remark my hints had an effect upon him that betrayed how much his heart was alarmed. He thinks too favourably, and I fear too frequently of me. What can be done? The wisest of us are the slaves of circumstances, and of the prejudices of others. How many ...
— Anna St. Ives • Thomas Holcroft

... walking, and put her hand out toward the back of a chair as if she needed support, and then an expression crossed her face that made Jim's soul sicken within him: an expression of fear and wonderment and childish surprise. At nine o'clock Miss Toland came in, a little pale, ...
— The Story Of Julia Page - Works of Kathleen Norris, Volume V. • Kathleen Norris

... together, and held a consultation on the question whether to march down and attack the Persians on the plain that night, or to wait till the next day. Parmenio was in favor of a night attack, in order to surprise the enemy by coming upon them at an unexpected time. But Alexander said no. He was sure of victory. He had got his enemies all before him; they were fully in his power. He would, therefore, take no advantage, but would attack ...
— Alexander the Great - Makers of History • Jacob Abbott

... grown-ups. When they do raise their voices, I go up to them and tell them in a very low tone that if everybody else in the room were making as much noise as they, it would be a very noisy place. That stops them. If children walk too heavily or make a noise on the stairs, I affect surprise and remark in a casual way that I did not know that it was circus day until I heard the elephants. This produces mouse-like stillness at once. Really, I know no other devices except being very impressive and putting quietness on the ground of ...
— Library Work with Children • Alice I. Hazeltine

... refresh you." As he concluded he touched a button in the wall and instantly a table, laden with substantial food, rare delicacies and wines, rose through a trap-door in the floor. He smiled at the expressions of surprise on their faces and touched a green bottle of wine with his white ...
— The Land of the Changing Sun • William N. Harben

... him. It was an error, a moment of forgetfulness, a horrible and stupid thing that you did through weakness, through surprise, perhaps in spite. Swear to me that you ...
— The Red Lily, Complete • Anatole France

... Davidson has made some wonderful discovery. Die alte Grossmutter couldn't resist telling me, although she wouldn't tell me what it was; she said he was intending to bring it, or them, to you as a present, and he might be wishing to make it a surprise, and it wasn't for her to go and spoil it all. Now what do you suppose it can be? I am consumed with curiosity, and could shed tears of envy. He doesn't know a word about the secret stairway. Die alte Grossmutter hadn't thought ...
— Shapes that Haunt the Dusk • Various

... conversation that the old king died, with results very different from those which Hokosa had anticipated. Although he was a Christian, to his surprise Nodwengo showed that he was also a strong ruler, and that there was little chance of the sceptre slipping from his hand—none indeed while the white teacher was there ...
— The Wizard • H. Rider Haggard

... Surprise relaxed his grip. She took swift advantage and sheered away to the other side of the table. He rose and brought down his hand ...
— The Red Planet • William J. Locke

... his brow and his puckered lips showed his annoyance and anger. He had not had the early training which enables the Jesuit priest effectually to conceal his feelings. He had evidently heard that Clara had left the convent, as he showed no surprise at seeing her. He probably would have behaved very differently to what he did, had not the general been present. Shaking hands with all the party, he took a seat, and brushing his hat with his glove, cleared his throat, and then said, "I was afraid, Miss Pemberton, that you were ill, as ...
— Clara Maynard - The True and the False - A Tale of the Times • W.H.G. Kingston

... by the fact that two of these Roman mothers, on seeing their sons coming suddenly into their presence, alive and well, when they had heard that they had fallen in battle, were killed at once by the shock of surprise and joy, as if by ...
— Hannibal - Makers of History • Jacob Abbott

... seized him to touch that round blue spot. So when his mother was away he crawled up through the hole. But when he reached the other end of it he found, to his great surprise, that the blue disk was ever so much bigger than he had thought it, and seemed further away than it had when he gazed at it ...
— The Tale of Master Meadow Mouse • Arthur Scott Bailey

... of the following Monday came only as a surprise to those who had not been fully behind the scenes. There were few, who knew the impression that the Friday had made, who did not feel sure that the game of pushing the Home Rule Bill on before Easy Easter was up, and that Mr. Gladstone had been ...
— Sketches In The House (1893) • T. P. O'Connor

... out some wine, which was handed to the officers, who drank and then quitted the house, leaving the inmates in a state of stupefaction, from surprise and amazement at what they had heard ...
— Varney the Vampire - Or the Feast of Blood • Thomas Preskett Prest

... whom we will not mention, but who is an equally good chemist. Dr. O. W. Holmes' life of Emerson was dreaded by many for fear of the position he might assume on this question, but to the general surprise of the public, he took strong grounds in favor of it; so that since that time, whenever people laugh at Emerson's poetry it is only necessary to ask them if they have read Dr. Holmes' biography ...
— Sketches from Concord and Appledore • Frank Preston Stearns

... maiden aunts rose ceremoniously. Either their politeness sprang from their natural habit of good-breeding, or it was wrung from them by extreme surprise. The apparition before them—tall, graceful, and dignified—could by no means be mistaken for any thing but a lady—such a lady as Avonsbridge, with all its aristocracy of birth and condition, rarely produced. She would ...
— Christian's Mistake • Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

... Press" relates the following: "Recently an editor of a morning paper wrote an article on the Boer question, and headed it, 'The British Army won a Victory that was Remarkable.' To his surprise he found that the printer made it read, 'The British Army won a Victory. That was Remarkable!' The infuriated editor told his foreman that he must be in ...
— The Importance of the Proof-reader - A Paper read before the Club of Odd Volumes, in Boston, by John Wilson • John Wilson

... To his surprise, Harry found himself acting as the leader of the expedition, and he continued in this capacity after they were established. The irony of the situation did not escape him; to all intents and purposes he was now ruling the ...
— This Crowded Earth • Robert Bloch

... the gate in front of the low, one-story farmhouse. A shepherd dog barked as she went up the path. She rapped at the front door. A woman appeared at the window and pointed to the side of the house. Abbie's face expressed surprise and resentment. She backed down the steps and made her way to the back door. The woman, Owen Frazer's wife, let her into ...
— The Best Short Stories of 1917 - and the Yearbook of the American Short Story • Various

... surprise cannot be felt, though there is abundance of cause for regret, that little is known of a poet whose merits were not appreciated until after his decease: whose powers were destroyed by a distressing malady at a period of life when ...
— The Poetical Works of William Collins - With a Memoir • William Collins

... or mayhap too indifferent to show surprise at so strange a desire on the part of the great and gracious Augusta, Dion stood aside respectfully to allow her to pass, then he followed her to the door of the inner room and held aside the heavy curtain, whilst she put her ...
— "Unto Caesar" • Baroness Emmuska Orczy

... selfe. He advised with y^e Captaine how he might be supplyed with powder, for he had not to carie him home; so he tould him he would goe to y^e next plantation, and doe his indeour to procure him some, and so did; but understanding, by intelligence, that he intended to ceiase on y^e barke, & surprise y^e beaver, he sent him the powder, and brought y^e barke & beaver home. But Girling never assualted y^e place more, (seeing him selfe disapoyented,) but went his way; and this was y^e ...
— Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' • William Bradford

... should enter the civil service, or when the war or any general political affairs were discussed on the assumption that everybody's welfare depended on this or that issue of events, he would listen with a mild and pitying smile and surprise people by his strange comments. But at this time he saw everybody—both those who, as he imagined, understood the real meaning of life (that is, what he was feeling) and those unfortunates who evidently did not understand it—in the bright light of the emotion ...
— War and Peace • Leo Tolstoy

... Alwyn went to all the chief merchants one after another and received to his great surprise practically the same estimate. He could not understand it. He had estimated the current market prices according to the Montgomery paper, yet the prices in Toomsville were fifty to a hundred and fifty per cent higher. The merchant to whom ...
— The Quest of the Silver Fleece - A Novel • W. E. B. Du Bois

... on the avenue Victor Hugo. The place in which he transacted his ambassadorial business was the kitchen, with great danger that the terrible Desnoyers might happen in there, on one of his perambulations as a laboring man, and surprise the intruder. ...
— The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse • Vicente Blasco Ibanez

... perfectly white. It may be observed in several of these cases, that the tail first shows a tendency to become by reversion blue; and this fact of the persistency of colour in the tail and tail-coverts[344] will surprise no one who has attended to ...
— The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. • Charles Darwin

... noticed Pao-yue's unusual appearance, his sedate deportment, and what is more, his hat ornamented with gold, and his dress full of embroidery, attended by beautiful maids and handsome youths, he did not indeed think it a matter of surprise that every one was ...
— Hung Lou Meng, Book I • Cao Xueqin

... accustomed to look at as artificial or conventional—such as shrugging the shoulders as a sign of impotence, or the raising the arms with open hands and extended fingers as a sign of wonder—we feel perhaps too much surprise at finding that they are innate. That these and some other gestures are inherited we may infer from their being performed by very young children, by those born blind, and by the most widely distinct races of man. We should also bear in mind that new and highly peculiar tricks, ...
— Introduction to the Science of Sociology • Robert E. Park

... banks, that rises somewhere in the Bull Run country, and empties into the Potomac near the Great Falls above Washington. A line of videttes was posted along this creek. An enemy could not easily surprise them, as the stream was in their front. Well out toward this line from the main camp, two reserves were established, commanded by captains, and still farther out smaller reserves, under charge of the lieutenants and sergeants. Each troop had a tour of this duty, twenty-four ...
— Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman - With Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War • J. H. (James Harvey) Kidd

... who had resided twenty years in Nicaragua, he was only surprised at the surprise of others. He had a quiet, imperturbable contempt for the country and everything in it, was satisfied with a cool corridor and cigar, and had no ambition beyond that of some day returning to Paris. Above all, he was a ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 30, April, 1860 • Various

... gave a start of joyful surprise, but he repressed it immediately, as if he wished to keep up the ...
— Serge Panine • Georges Ohnet

... and two left legs; his broad and red face carried small side-whiskers in the manner of that day, but was otherwise shaved. When I reached the cottage, husband and wife were at home, doing nothing at all in the approved Sunday style. I was received by them with some surprise, but I quickly explained my mission, and produced my linen bag. To my disgust, all John Brooks said was, 'I know'd the Lord would provide,' and after emptying my little bag into the palm of an enormous hand, he swept the contents into his trousers pocket, ...
— Father and Son • Edmund Gosse

... success she returned with great pomp to her apartments, though with what hope of having really attained a tenable position it is impossible to say. When the news was carried to Holyrood, Bishop Kennedy in his turn appeared before the Estates, which had been thus taken by surprise. It is evident that the populace of Edinburgh was excited by what had occurred—Mary's partisans no doubt rejoicing, while the people in general, always jealous of a foreigner and never very respectful of a woman, surged through the great line of street ...
— Royal Edinburgh - Her Saints, Kings, Prophets and Poets • Margaret Oliphant

... surprise. "I think you labour under a misapprehension. The glass belongs to me; I bought it to-day at the old curiosity shop ...
— The Strong Arm • Robert Barr

... melted to surprise and contemptuous amusement. 'You see the lady to be the "most noble of ladies" through the warming you get by passing into the feelings of ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... they exclaimed in great surprise. "Where did you come from, old fellow? We're awfully glad ...
— Canoe Boys and Campfires - Adventures on Winding Waters • William Murray Graydon

... holding her already insensible form in her arm'. She was obliged to lay her upon the floor while she rang the bell to alarm the servants. She sent for Valentin and a doctor. The doctor, arriving, regarded the beautiful face with manifest surprise and alarm. It was no longer pale, but darkly flushed, and the stamp of terrible pain was ...
— Mere Girauds Little Daughter • Frances Hodgson Burnett

... war, and on the occasion of the attempt of Julius II to capture Ferrara by surprise, that the famous Bayard made the acquaintance of Lucretia. After the French cavaliers, with their companions in arms, the Ferrarese, had captured the fortress they returned in triumph to Ferrara where they were received with the greatest honors. In remembrance ...
— Lucretia Borgia - According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day • Ferdinand Gregorovius

... and to his great surprise, is all at once confronted by the intelligent black man. They are not so numerous now as to be an element to fear, but the whites are foreseeing the not distant day when they can not be relegated to inferiority because of their ...
— American Missionary, Volume 43, No. 12, December, 1889 • Various

... savagely, thrust his hands into his pockets and looked out of the window, turning his back on Orsino. The latter watched his companion in surprise, not understanding why his dismal forebodings should find such ...
— Don Orsino • F. Marion Crawford

... difficulty, my dear lady," he replied slowly. "If I can only see my way clear—Mr. Rossiter advised me to speak to Miss Jacobi; he seems to think she is more amenable to reason than her brother, and probably he is right." But to Malcolm's surprise Dinah's mild eyes began to ...
— Herb of Grace • Rosa Nouchette Carey

... examples. Such a proscription, without even a pretence of delinquency, has none. It stands by itself. It stands as a monument to astonish the imagination, to confound the reason of mankind. I confess to you, when I first came to know this business in its true nature and extent, my surprise did a little suspend my indignation. I was in a manner stupefied by the desperate boldness of a few obscure young men, who, having obtained, by ways which they could not comprehend, a power of which they saw neither the purposes nor the limits, tossed about, subverted, and tore ...
— The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. II. (of 12) • Edmund Burke

... praise a man for learning, it is because I had supposed him ignorant; if for helping the unfortunate, I hint that I did not anticipate that he would regard any but himself. Wherever praise appears, we cannot evade the suggestion that excellence is a matter of surprise. And as nobody likes to be thought ill-adapted to excellence, praise ...
— The Nature of Goodness • George Herbert Palmer

... rather a surprise, but I noted that his appearance did not correspond with the woman's description of the young man who had asked for a box ...
— The Master Detective - Being Some Further Investigations of Christopher Quarles • Percy James Brebner

... of voices, so like the psalm-singing of some church choir. But if nature has not made him vicious, it is none the less necessary to attack him with caution, and under any circumstances a sleeping traveler ought not to leave himself exposed, lest a guariba should surprise him when he is not in a ...
— Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon • Jules Verne

... fringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best developed are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up both sides of the valley. At Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the phenomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike with surprise even some of the inhabitants. The terraces are there much broader, and may be called plains, in some parts there are six of them, but generally only five; they run up the valley for thirty-seven ...
— The Voyage of the Beagle • Charles Darwin

... To the surprise of Bunny Brown, and his sister Sue, Aunt Sallie threw her arms around Wopsie. Then the nice old colored ...
— Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home • Laura Lee Hope

... sculpture. In the minds of those who hold that the Mound-Builders were the ancestors of the present Indians, or, at least, that they were not necessarily of a different race, the superiority of their pipe sculpture over their other works of art excites no surprise, since, however prominent a place the pipe may have held in the affections of the Mound-Builders, it is certain that it has been an object of no less esteem and reverence among the Indians of history. Certainly no one institution, for so it may be called, was more firmly fixed by long ...
— Animal Carvings from Mounds of the Mississippi Valley • Henry W. Henshaw

... of his walks in the suburbs of London, with a damsel whom he never saw again. Again, sonnets III. to V. tell how he fell before the new type of foreign beauty which crossed his path at Bologna. A similar surprise of his fancy at the expense of his judgment seems to have happened on the present occasion of his visit to Shotover. There is no evidence that Mary Powell was handsome, and we may be sure that it would have been mentioned if she had been. But she had youth, and country ...
— Milton • Mark Pattison

... harm from a woman and so young a boy, still ran towards the door, being in advance of Ethan, who was chivalrous enough to place himself in position to cover the retreat of his companion in case of need. To the surprise of Fanny, the squaw placed herself in her path, and attempted to seize her, uttering yells hardly less savage than those of her male companions. The terrified girl paused in her rapid flight till Ethan came up. The resolute ...
— Hope and Have - or, Fanny Grant Among the Indians, A Story for Young People • Oliver Optic

... "The Griffin's" surprise at seeing them seemed as great as their own. She gave a gasp of consternation, peeped hastily inside the empty room, then turned to Lindsay and Cicely with a look of mingled relief ...
— The Manor House School • Angela Brazil

... farre from thence: and the Armada being beaten with the artillery and musketers that were placed vpon the next shore, left her playing vpon vs. The rest of the day was spent in preparing the companies, and other prouisions ready for the surprise of the base towne which was effected ...
— The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation, v. 7 - England's Naval Exploits Against Spain • Richard Hakluyt

... candle in her hand—a stout countrywoman of forty, with a curved nose, prominent teeth, and hair screwed up in a tight knob at the back of her head. Her small grey eyes, scanning the visitor at the door, showed both surprise and deference. The butler of the moat-house was not in the habit of mixing with the villagers, and by them he was accounted something of a personage. He not only shone with the reflected glory of the big house, but was ...
— The Hand in the Dark • Arthur J. Rees

... I've had an alligator roll up against a skiff and pretty near come aboard after I'd harpooned it. There's another harpoon on the Irene, and I'll fix it to-night with a few feet of wire for the next shark to bite on. I reckon it'll give him a surprise." ...
— Dick in the Everglades • A. W. Dimock

... morning air, a wild music burst out: the drone of a bagpipe, and a man's high voice half singing, half yelling a brief verse, at the end of which a wild flourish on some other reedy wood instrument. Alvina sat still in surprise. It was a strange, high, rapid, yelling music, the very voice of the mountains. Beautiful, in our musical sense of the word, it was not. But oh, the magic, the nostalgia of the untamed, ...
— The Lost Girl • D. H. Lawrence

... it wasn't so much his fault as mine that he was the wrong man in the place. He couldn't do any harm in Jerusalem, it seemed. Let him wail in the Jews' Wailing Place, if he'd any complaints, said I to myself. I thought he was too keen on money to resign because his silly pride was hurt. But to my surprise, he informed me that he'd come to 'hand in his papers,' as he called it. So much the worse for his pocket and the better for mine! Only it struck me as d—d queer, considering Corkran's character. I wanted to ask if he'd spit out any ...
— It Happened in Egypt • C. N. Williamson & A. M. Williamson

... with its sweet surprise, Waken the flowers, and scatter the dew; But never again shall the baby's eyes ...
— Happy Days for Boys and Girls • Various

... on him with mute surprise the doctor proceeded with his examination in complete silence, and then began discoursing about ...
— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 15, - No. 86, February, 1875 • Various

... I had a lovely surprise. I looked out of the window and saw a coolie pull a little wagon into the yard and begin to unload. I couldn't imagine what was taking place but pretty soon Miss Dixon came in with both arms full of papers, pictures, ...
— Lady of the Decoration • Frances Little

... to end; she knew that after a meadow there was a sign-post, next an elm, a barn, or the hut of a lime-kiln tender. Sometimes even, in the hope of getting some surprise, she shut her eyes, but she never lost the clear perception of the distance to ...
— Madame Bovary • Gustave Flaubert

... been no sign of Jacob Meyer. This, however, did not surprise them, for now he ate his meals alone, taking his food from a little general store, and cooking it over his own fire. When they had finished their breakfast Mr. Clifford remarked that they had no more drinking water left, and Benita said that she would go to fetch a pailful from the ...
— Benita, An African Romance • H. Rider Haggard

... was too serious when he gave it to me; and besides, he never jokes like that. We must wait a little while, and then learn the truth. Depend on it, he had a good reason for what he did. I expect we'll get something of a big surprise." ...
— The Outdoor Chums on the Gulf • Captain Quincy Allen

... after suffering a moment to pass in surprise; but what can I dowhat can my father do? Should we offer the old man a home and a maintenance, his habits would compel him to refuse us. Neither were we so silly as to wish such a thing, could we convert these clearings and farms again into ...
— The Pioneers • James Fenimore Cooper

... same Gentleman relates, that once seeing a Spider bruised into a small Glass of Water, and that it tinged {392} it somewhat of a Sky-colour, he was, upon owning his surprise thereat, informed, that a dozen of them being put in, they would dye it to almost a full Azure. Which is touch't here, that, the Experiment being so easie to make, it may be tried, when the season furnishes those Insects; meantime, it seems not ...
— Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666 • Various

... to shoot the mother, while I was to reserve my fire until after his shot. I expected that at the report of his rifle the bear I had chosen would pause a moment in surprise, and thus offer a good standing shot. As my friend's rifle cracked, the bear I had selected made a sudden dash for the woods, and I had to take him on the run. At my first shot he turned a complete somersault, ...
— American Big Game in Its Haunts • Various

... and had recommended her comrades to confess. She took the communion in the open air, before their eyes; and a company of priests, headed by her chaplain, Pasquerel, led the way whilst chanting sacred hymns. Great was the surprise amongst the men-at-arms, many had words of mockery on their lips. It was the time when La Hire used to say, "If God were a soldier, He would turn robber." Nevertheless, respect got the better of habit; the most honorable were ...
— A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times - Volume III. of VI. • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

... defile among the rocky hills, and a sharp curve led them finally out upon the other side, looking down into green fields, as straight and trim as a checker board in their varying tints, and off over the far Nile. The fertile lands were wide here, and fed with broad canals that offered the surprise of boats' white wings between the fields of grain. Not far ahead, before the desert sands reached that magic green rose a group of palms, and near them some mud houses and a ...
— The Palace of Darkened Windows • Mary Hastings Bradley

... Lin has never indulged in such stuff and nonsense. Had she ever uttered any such trash, I would have become chilled even towards her!" This language suddenly produced, in Lin Tai-yue's mind, both surprise as well as delight; sadness as well as regret. Delight, at having indeed been so correct in her perception that he whom she had ever considered in the light of a true friend had actually turned out to be a true friend. Surprise, "because," she ...
— Hung Lou Meng, Book II • Cao Xueqin

... distance and will tell you all about it later, but not now; and I encountered strange things on my way—aye, I must say extraordinary things. Before sunrise I found a bed in the inn yonder, and to my own great surprise I slept so soundly that I awoke only two ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers

... off the dampness," Kirkwood explained in deference to the other's look of pleased surprise at the cheerful bed of coals. "I'm afraid I could never get acclimated to life in a cold, damp room—or a damp cold ...
— The Black Bag • Louis Joseph Vance

... great deal depends on the mode of suspension. What is needed is that the pendulum should be as little affected as possible by its connection with the rotating earth. It will surprise many, perhaps, to learn that in Foucault's original mode of suspension the upper end of the wire bearing the pendulum bob was fastened to a metal plate by means of a screw. It might be supposed that the torsion of the wire would appreciably ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 • Various

... Suzanne," quoth a voice from the thicket at her back, a voice which came to startle both of them though in different ways. Before they had recovered from their surprise the Marquis de Bellecour stood before them. He was a tall man of some fifty years of age, but so powerful of frame and so scrupulous in dress that he might have conveyed an impression of more youth. His face, though handsome in a high-bred way, was puffed and of an unhealthy ...
— The Trampling of the Lilies • Rafael Sabatini

... evidently the very words of one who fought in the battle. Nor need this in any way surprise us, for we have far older Chronicles set down year by year in unbroken record. The matter is easy to prove. The Chronicles of Ulster record eclipses of the sun and moon as early as 495,—two years after Saint Patrick's death. It was, of course, the habit of astronomers ...
— Ireland, Historic and Picturesque • Charles Johnston

... and much fawning, the usurer appeased the storm he had raised in Audley's conscience. And he then heard, as if with surprise, the true purport ...
— My Novel, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... Rather to Gogmagog's surprise Brutus agreed at once, and it was quickly settled that the giant himself and the best man in the Trojan army should be the two to try their skill. This man was Corineus, who accepted ...
— Cornwall's Wonderland • Mabel Quiller-Couch



Words linked to "Surprise" :   ball over, disruption, astonishment, surpriser, impress, surprisal, move, alteration, blow, affect, blow out of the water, amaze, blindside, flabbergast, storm, thunderclap, shock, thunderbolt, explode a bombshell, modification, strike, act, astound, astonish, catch, peripetia, floor, bombshell, attack, bowl over, coup de theatre, perturbation, assail, peripety, eye opener, change, surprise attack, stunner



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