Utterly gobsmacked 😱🤯
Meaning
To be completely and overwhelmingly astonished or surprised.
Origin
The word 'gob' is Cockney rhyming slang for 'mouth.' So, to be 'gobsmacked' literally means to have your mouth smacked, as if you've been hit and are left stunned with your jaw hanging open. It conjures a vivid image, doesn't it? Imagine a sudden, shocking revelation, so profound it physically affects you, leaving your mouth agape in disbelief. The addition of 'utterly' just amplifies that stunning, speechless amazement to its extreme.
Utterly gobsmacked represented with emoji😱🤯
This playful arrangement of emojis functions as a delightful puzzle, challenging the viewer to decipher the whimsical connection between the initial shock (😱) and the subsequent explosion of realization (🤯). It teaches us that sometimes, the most profound moments of understanding arrive with a jolt, leaving us utterly gobsmacked.
Examples
- When she saw the surprise party, she was utterly gobsmacked.
- He was utterly gobsmacked by the magician's final trick.
- The squirrel, who had just learned to juggle acorns, left the other woodland creatures utterly gobsmacked.
- Upon discovering a portal to a land of sentient teacups, the baker stood utterly gobsmacked.
Frequently asked questions
'Utterly gobsmacked' is considered informal. The word 'gob' itself originates from Cockney rhyming slang, which is typically associated with casual and colloquial speech.
Being 'gobsmacked' implies a much deeper level of astonishment than simply being surprised. It suggests a state of being so shocked that you are speechless and taken aback, as if physically struck, which 'surprised' does not convey.
While more common in spoken language, 'utterly gobsmacked' can be used in informal writing like personal emails or social media. Its vivid imagery makes it effective, but it might be considered too casual for formal academic or business documents.
Yes, words like 'flabbergasted,' 'dumbfounded,' or 'astonished' convey a similar sense of intense surprise, although 'utterly gobsmacked' has a distinctly British and informal flavor due to its slang origins.