lo and behold!
What a shock!
Lo and behold is an exclamation announcing something surprising or remarkable, often with theatrical flair: I opened the door and, lo and behold, there stood my brother.
The phrase combines the archaic lo (look!) with behold, creating deliberate old-fashioned drama.
It can be sincere or ironic—used genuinely for genuine surprises, or sarcastically when the "surprise" was entirely predictable: Lo and behold, he forgot to call again.
- feast your eyesLook at something impressive
- surpriseUnexpected event causing astonishment
- astonishShock with wonder
- marvelAstonishing thing or feeling
- wonderAmazement or curiosity
would you believe it · what do you know · eureka · suddenly · out of nowhere · unexpected · revelation · amazement · gasp · speak of the devil · voila · presto · as if by magic · dramatic · appear · witness · exclaim · discover
lo and behold!unsurprisingly
As was foreseen
predictably · as expected · of course · naturally · sure enough
lo and behold!what else is new
Rhetorical dismissal of obvious information
same old same old · business as usual · par for the course · as per usual · I told you so
behold, beholden, beholder, beheld, hold, holds, holding, holder, uphold