spring a surprise

phrase

: to do, ask, or say something that is not expected

Everyone knows she's not likely to spring a surprise.

The teacher sprang a surprise on us and gave a quiz.

Examples of spring a surprise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Will the game play out as expected or will the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Iñaki Williams spring a surprise for the Black Stars? — Ben Church, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

Could Nigeria spring a surprise? — Jay Harris, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025

However, Danielson has started springing a surprise 7-on-7 or full 11-on-11 setup without the players’ prior notice. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 13 Aug. 2025

The Norwegian academy informs Abel Prize recipients with ruses similar to those used to spring a surprise birthday party on an unsuspecting person. — Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

And yet the ‘free hit’ mentality may well be just what the country needs to spring a surprise. — Aleks Klosok, CNN, 11 June 2024

Political observers had long suspected Duterte could spring a surprise, such as a presidential run by his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, next year. — NBC News, 2 Oct. 2021

Evans started the meet by spring a surprise victory in the girls 4x800 relay. — Buddy Collings, orlandosentinel.com, 8 May 2021

Rhymes for spring a surprise

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize