From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbombshellbomb‧shell /ˈbɒmʃel $ ˈbɑːm-/ noun [countable] 1 SHOCKan unexpected and very shocking piece of news Then came the bombshell: the factory was to close down. Finally, she dropped the bombshell. She was pregnant, she said.2 → blonde bombshell
Examples from the Corpus
bombshell• For the board of directors, the news of the crash came as a bombshell.• But while they were there Farash dropped a bombshell.• Her three-page typed reply, when it was finally received, dropped like a bombshell.• The word had fallen like a bombshell in the pure and tranquil atmosphere of the Archer dining-room.• A bit of a bombshell, Vi distracts Betty's hard-won suitor Hugh, touching off a set of sibling sparring.• For the Community Board this was a bombshell.• A bombshell, the announcement drew cries of anguish from critics and fans.• They were successful in the first aim by concentrating on Mr Smith's shadow budget and re-exploding the tax bombshell.• Then Vanessa dropped the bombshell that she was leaving - and leaving that night.• Meanwhile, rehearsals for Blithe Spirit were proceeding to their second week with me sitting on this bombshell.dropped the bombshell• The company dropped the bombshell as it plunged £711million into the red in the first half of the year. 