lo and behold

lo and behold

A phrase used to indicate something surprising or unexpected. I'd been searching for my glasses all over the house when, lo and behold, they were on my head the whole time.
See also: and, behold, lo
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Lo and behold!

Cliché Look here!; Thus! (An expression of surprise.) Lo and behold! There is Fred! He beat us here by taking a shortcut.
See also: and, lo
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

ˌlo and beˈhold

(humorous) used when telling a story to introduce somebody’s unexpected appearance: I walked into the restaurant and, lo and behold, there was my boss with his wife.The phrase uses old words that tell you to look at something. It means ‘look and see’.
See also: and, behold, lo
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

lo and behold

What a surprise! Can you believe it! The very old word lo, which means “look” or “see,” today survives only in this tautological imperative, which dates from the mid-nineteenth century and is nearly always used lightly. As Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote (Night and Morning, cited by the OED), “The fair bride was skipping down the middle . . . when lo and behold! the whiskered gentleman advanced.”
See also: and, behold, lo
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in classic literature ?
And now, to complete the enjoyment of the feast and bring the dinner to a satisfactory end, lo and behold the page who had carried the letters and presents to Teresa Panza, the wife of the governor Sancho, entered the hall; and the duke and duchess were very well pleased to see him, being anxious to know the result of his journey; but when they asked him the page said in reply that he could not give it before so many people or in a few words, and begged their excellences to be pleased to let it wait for a private opportunity, and in the meantime amuse themselves with these letters; and taking out the letters he placed them in the duchess's hand.
Here I go over to Se- reny Harper, like an old softy, expecting I'm going to make her believe all that rubbage about that dream, when lo and behold you she'd found out from Joe that you was over here and heard all the talk we had that night.
So I got on to ScottishPower and, lo and behold, the meter was fitted.
Then the vet checked his mouth where, lo and behold, they found a fridge magnet."
Lo and behold, the mumbling tennis star turned up at Wimbledon clean-shaven.
Lo and behold, he emerged from obscurity in 1995 as a member of the European Parliament, followed shortly by appointment as European Commisioner.
Never at a loss for words, or for strange and perilous new worlds to explore, Werner Herzog considers whether the technologies that unite us might one day eclipse us in "Lo and Behold," an alternately playful and unsettling 10-part essay on how the Internet continues to evolve and encroach on all avenues of society and consciousness.
A couple of days later I had to go back to the hospital for a check up and, lo and behold, my leg had not been set properly and I had to "suffer" having the plaster removed, my leg broken and reset and then replastered.
Lo and behold, the wallet was on the ground, safe and sound.
'They'said it wouldn't rain today so I went out without my brolly Lo and behold I got drenched in a downpour; what a load of folly 'They'said that interest rates would be through the roof by the end of the coming year So I've spent nigh on six months feeling quite anxious and almost living in fear 'They' said that I shouldn't eat 'this and that' and I'm now in quite a tizzy But now 'they' say all is just fine so I'm back on the drinks that are fizzy 'They'say that climate warming is definitely real and we should all seek to play our part But if only they'd stop waffling there'd be less hot air, now that would be a good start So tonight please remember before going to sleep, find a few minutes to pray Ask God to please intercede for you by taking every last one of 'them' all away.
It is 37 years since the first Star Wars movie hit the screen and lo and behold, there's a new one on the way.
Lo and behold! His phone number was listed in the Houston directory, and when I called, he answered.
"I just keep going, keep plugging along, keep working with the things that Sean (Foley, his coach) wants me to do, and lo and behold, I've had two really good weeks this year."
We have had the ironworks and are just finishing cleaning up after King Coal, when lo and behold the people in Cardiff decide we have taken all the jobs away from the Valleys so we may as well take away its beauty as well.