it's a small world
English
editAlternative forms
editPhrase
edit- Used to express surprise at meeting an acquaintance or discovering a personal connection in a distant place or an unexpected context.
- 1880–1881, Thomas Hardy, chapter I, in A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the De Stancys. A Story of To-day. […], volume III, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, […], published 1881, →OCLC, book the fifth (De Stancy and Paula), page 40:
- “I have met my young photographer,” said De Stancy, cheerily. “What a small world it is, as every busybody truly observes! I am wishing he could take some views for us as we go on; but you have no apparatus with you, I suppose, Mr. Dare?”
Related terms
editTranslations
editphrase used when meeting an acquaintance or personal connection in an unexpected place or context
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References
edit- “small world”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.