bombshell








noun

  1. a bomb.
  2. something or someone having a sudden and sensational effect: The news of his resignation was a bombshell.

noun

  1. (esp formerly) a bomb or artillery shell
  2. a shocking or unwelcome surprisethe news of his death was a bombshell
  3. informal an attractive girl or woman (esp in the phrase blonde bombshell)
n.

1708, from bomb (n.) + shell (n.). The figurative sense of “shattering or devastating thing or event” attested from 1860. In reference to a pretty woman (especially a blonde) it is attested from 1942 (“Bombshell” as title of a movie starring blond U.S. actress Jean Harlow (1911-1937) is from 1933).

see drop a bombshell.

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