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Glite Dictionary
jaw in lap

jaw in lap

1 9.9
A look of great surprise with the mouth open
  • idiom
  • Informal
: quedarse con la boca abierta
  • When she saw the final bill, her jaw in lap expression said it all.

Examples

  • After hearing the unexpected announcement, I sat there with my jaw in lap.

  • The magician's last trick left every child's jaw in lap.

  • Wow! That was a jaw in lap moment!

  • When she heard the news, her jaw in lap expression said it all!

  • After hearing the unexpected announcement, I sat there with my jaw in lap, completely stunned.

  • When she saw the magician's last trick, her jaw in lap look revealed her astonishment.

  • The shocking news left everyone in the room with their jaw in lap and eyes wide open.

Synonyms

state of shock
vsjaw in lap
19 3.9

A very stunned and numb feeling after a sudden bad event

focuses on visible astonishment and open-mouthed surprise rather than distress

Antonyms

unaffected
32 3.9

Not changed or harmed by something and not showing strong feeling

unimpressed
19 4.0

Not thinking something is good or interesting

How Astonished

jaw in lap
  • Informal
1 9.9
stunned
197 3.0
astonished
55 2.7
surprised
∞ 1.0
startled
75 3.3

Surface Forms

jaw in lap singular
jaws in lap plural

Morphology

jaw + in + lap

The phrase creates a vivid literal image (a jaw ending up in someone’s lap) that cues extreme surprise, so a learner who knows 'jaw' and 'lap' can plausibly infer the general idea. However, this is a metaphorical, non‑standard formulation rather than a regular compositional pattern in English, so the exact idiomatic sense may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Jaw in lap comes from a strong, funny picture: someone opens their mouth so wide the lower jaw looks like it has dropped into their lap after seeing something amazing. That's why the phrase means 'very shocked' or 'astonished'.