spring on someone

Save This Word!

Present or make known unexpectedly, as in They sprung the news of their engagement on the family last night. This idiom uses spring in the sense of “make a sudden move.” Mark Twain used it in Tom Sawyer (1876): “Old Mr. Jones is going to try to spring something on the people here tonight.”

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby spring on someone

spring-loaded, springlock, spring mattress, Spring Mountains, spring onion, spring on someone, spring peeper, spring roll, Springs, spring snow, Springsteen

Example sentences from the Web for spring on someone

Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And yes, someone has already called Spencer a “Small Fry,” har har.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She completed a yoga teacher-training program and, in the spring of 2008, went on a retreat in Peru to study with shamans.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For someone with anorexia, self-starvation makes them feel better.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV,” she continued.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Ollie saw someone standing before it, bending slightly forward in the pose of expectation.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
It was a spring day, and the fat buds of the chestnuts were bursting into magnificent green plumes.
Children's Ways|James Sully
I do not know what I think; all my thoughts seem whirling round as leaves do in brooks in the time of the spring rains.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
In the spring of 1868 he was taken by his mother for a visit to England, and there, in the same year, his sister was born.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
The cat had been about to spring at Grandfather Mole again when Mr. Crow spoke to her.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY