Street voices
Courtney
·
United States
Just recorded
"Shut the front door comes from shut up when you use shut up as a way to express like shock or disbelief in what someone is saying. So, for example, you could say, you're 35 years old. Shut the front door. You look maybe 20. Shut the front door."
What it means
An exclamation of surprise or disbelief, often used when someone says something shocking. It's a playful, less offensive stand-in for 'shut up'.
Usage examples
"You're 35? Shut the front door! I thought you were 20."
"She won the lottery? Shut the front door, that's insane!"
"You met Beyoncé? Shut the front door, no way!"
Where it comes from
It’s a censored spin on “shut up” that kept the shock but ditched the swear, sliding “front door” in place of the harsher word. It popped up in the 90s and got a boost from TV as a cheeky way to drop your jaw without dropping an f-bomb.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Master of Surprising Leftovers Official watcher of this expression
Tell me, what have you got for me?