bowl a googly

English

Etymology

From the cricket term

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Verb

bowl a googly

1. (transitive, idiomatic, UK, figuratively) to surprise (someone); to introduce (to someone) something unexpected, underhand or requiring a quick reaction or correction.

   Fred bowled me a googly when he asked me to explain those statistics in the meeting.

Synonyms

• catch unawares
• catch off guard
• wrongfoot

Translations

to require a quick reaction from by doing something unexpected

• Finnish: lyödä ällikällä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: prendre de court (fr), poser une colle

See also

• throw for a loop
• throw somebody a curve
• curveball