Englishspring something on someone
Meaning: To surprise someone with something.
Example: “Don't spring a houseguest on me the night before.”
Origin: "Spring" is the verb for what a trap does, and the mechanics are the point. A spring-loaded mechanism stores energy quietly, holds it under tension for as long as required, and releases all of it in an instant at a moment determined by something other than the victim. That is a precise account of what the idiom describes: springing news on someone does not mean merely surprising them but implies the information was prepared, held back deliberately, and released at a chosen time — which is why the phrase carries a note of grievance that a neutral word like "told" does not. English uses the same verb for springing a surprise and springing a trap, and the overlap is not accidental.
More English idioms
- stew in one's own juices To suffer the consequences of one's own actions.
- stick to one's guns To be firm in one's resolve or not to alter one's position.
- straight and narrow The path of correct social or ethical behavior that society approves of.
- strange bedfellows People or things that one does not normally expect to find together.
- strapped for cash Not having quite enough money.
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