bowl a googly

English

Etymology

From the cricket term.

Pronunciation

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Verb

bowl a googly (third-person singular simple present bowls a googly, present participle bowling a googly, simple past and past participle bowled 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.

2. (transitive, intransitive, cricket) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bowl,‎ googly.

Synonyms

• catch unawares
• catch off guard
• wrong-foot

Translations

to require a quick reaction from by doing something unexpected

• Finnish: lyödä ällikällä (fi)
• French: prendre de court (fr), poser une colle

See also

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