to blow the surprise
1
6.5
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
revelar la sorpresa
Examples
-
I just blew the surprise.
-
Oh, I blew the surprise!
-
Of course, since we're about to show you an interview with one of them, we're sort of blowing the surprise, but hey, that's life.
Blog text (25) -
I accidentally blew the surprise about her birthday party when I mentioned the cake.
-
If you tell him about the gift, you will blow the surprise we planned for him.
-
She was careful not to blow the surprise during the phone call with her friend.
Synonyms
∞
2.3
Show something that was hidden or secret
342
4.1
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
243
3.5
Reveal secret facts to the public
219
4.1
To tell secret information to the public without permission
109
4.1
To make something known for the first time
60
4.2
To show a feeling or secret without meaning to
32
3.7
Tell secret or private information to other people
18
6.0
Tell a secret by accident before others know
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
5
5.6
Accidentally tell someone something you want to keep secret
5
5.1
To tell a secret that should be kept
4
7.1
To reveal information that was previously hidden
2
4.4
To tell people about something secret
2
5.5
To show something hidden so people can see it
1
5.5
To tell a secret by accident and spoil a surprise
1
6.5
To make a secret suddenly become known
1
6.5
To reveal something hidden or forgotten
1
7.7
To make something hidden become visible by removing a cover or showing the truth
To show your plans or ideas too early to others
To make a secret known often without meaning to
Antonyms
How Revealing
- Informal
1
6.5
114
3.4
5
5.6
136
2.0
90
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
blow + the + surprise
The meaning 'to reveal or spoil a surprise' is a metaphorical extension of 'blow' rather than a literal action, so the link to 'surprise' is partly inferable (you can 'spoil' or 'ruin' a surprise) but requires knowing the non-literal sense of 'blow'. Many languages use equivalent verbs meaning 'ruin' or 'spoil' for this concept, so learners can often guess it from context, but the specific figurative use is not fully predictable for all B1 learners.
Etymology
Blow the surprise may come from the image of someone literally blowing on a hidden gift and making it visible, or from spy stories where to 'blow' means to 'reveal a secret'. So, blow the surprise means to 'reveal a secret' or 'spoil' a surprise before it happens.