lo and behold
Behold, a revelation!
Lo and behold is an exclamation introducing something surprising or remarkable, often with theatrical or ironic flair: I opened the door and, lo and behold, there stood my ex-husband.
The phrase combines the archaic interjection *lo* (look!) with *behold*, creating a deliberately old-fashioned flourish that signals mock amazement or genuine astonishment at an unexpected discovery.
- lookDirect one's gaze
- whatRequesting clarification or repetition
- surpriseUnexpected event causing astonishment
- astonishmentIntense sudden wonder
- what do you knowPhrase expressing mild astonishment
would you believe it · lo · hark · epiphany · verily · why · revelation · as it turns out · incredulity · voila · shock · marvel · case in point · awe · bewilderment · look here · amazement · out of the blue
- exclamationsoh, yes, no, wow, hey
- Revelation phrasesaha, eureka, voila, ta-da, revealed
- story phrasesonce upon a time, happily ever after, the end, long ago, a long time ago
- believe it or notsurprisingly, amazingly, incredibly, shockingly, remarkably
- archaic Englishthou, thee, thy, thine, ye
- Old Englishnu, her, eft, la, thy
lo and beholdas expected
unsurprisingly · predictably · of course · sure enough · naturally
lo and beholdnot at all
Complete negation phrase
far from it · anyway · incidentally · by the way · in any case
behold, beholding, beheld, beholder, beholders, hold, holds, holding, held