Meanings
- not comparableIronically or hypocritically pretending to be shocked.
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank is shocked, shocked to find "stagecraft" going on in the White House briefing room
2009 June 24, James Taranto, “Let Turkey Handle It”, in The Wall Street Journal3 more examples
Lawyers for Mike Milken, the chief junk-bond prestidigitator and 1990’s most gleefully anticipated defendant, say they are shocked — shocked! — that federal prosecutors have been leaking stories about his case to the Times and The Wall Street Journal. Imagine: responsible professionals improperly bartering inside information to enhance their own position.
1989 December, “December’s No Longer Perfect”, in Spy, page 10At this late date, it could scarcely be taken as genuine were a state to exclaim suddenly that it was shocked ... shocked to find that it was being overflown during reentry, à la Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.
2018, Thomas Gangale, How High the Sky?: The Definition and Delimitation of Outer Space and Territorial Airspace in International Law, BRILL, →ISBN, page 364It’s tempting to roll one’s eyes at women who are shocked, shocked to discover sexism in a political party led by Donald Trump.
2025 December 9, Michelle Goldberg, “Republican Women Suddenly Realize They’re Surrounded by Misogynists”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC
Origin
Referencing a line in the 1942 film Casablanca.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
shocked, shocked. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shocked%2C%20shocked
“shocked, shocked.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shocked%2C%20shocked. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shocked, shocked,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shocked%2C%20shocked.
Source: shocked, shocked on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.