more than one bargained for
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English
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Noun
[edit]more than one bargained for (uncountable)
- (idiomatic) An unexpected and (usually) unwanted result of a decision or action.
- 1874, Ambrose Bierce, “Fables of Zambri, the Parsee”, in Cobwebs From an Empty Skull:
- This was more than he had bargained for, and he squeaked shrilly with the pain.
- 1919, Upton Sinclair, chapter 22, in Jimmie Higgins:
- The sound of guns grew louder. . . . [W]hat if the Germans were to break through and sweep over all calculations? This was a little more than Jimmie Higgins had bargained for when he entered the recruiting-office in Leesville, U.S.A.!
- 1987 July 27, Cristina Garcia, “Law: Casting A Net at Green River”, in Time, retrieved 23 May 2015:
- [T]hey found much and more than they had bargained for. Nestled amid the weeds and debris near the bottom of the slope was a human skull.
- 2015 Jan. 14, "Bull elephant gets too close for comfort in Thai park" (video), New York Times (retrieved 23 May 2015):
- A bull elephant gave tourists in Thailand more than they bargained for on Sunday when it sat on and rubbed itself along their cars.
Usage notes
[edit]- Sometimes used euphemistically to suggest a result which is especially unpleasant.
- Sometimes used in a mildly humorous manner to suggest that the unexpected result is laughable or ridiculous.
- Sometimes a term or expression is located between more and than, as in:
- 1841, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 5, in The Deerslayer:
- "Something more may turn up from this inroad of the red-skins than they bargained for."
- 2008 October 9, Samantha M. Shapiro, “Kosher Wars”, in New York Times, retrieved 25 May 2015:
- [H]e set about creating an alternative that met his ideal of kosher, a process more arduous than he bargained for.
Further reading
[edit]- “more than one bargained for”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.