Meaning & use
shut the front door
Last updated
Meanings
interjectionfixed phraseinformalhumorous
A humorous exclamation of surprise or disbelief at surprising news.
Grammar: Said alone as a reaction: Shut the front door!
Shut the front door! You won the lottery?
"We're moving to Paris." "Shut the front door!"
Shut the front door, that is amazing news!
phrasefixed phrase
A literal instruction to close the main door of a house.
Grammar: Imperative: shut the front door, it's cold.
Patterns
- shut the front door behind you
Please shut the front door when you leave.
Shut the front door, you are letting the heat out.
He forgot to shut the front door again.
Common combinations
- Shut the front door!
- Shut the front door! That's incredible.
- shut the front door behind you
- Shut the front door behind you, please.
- shut the front door quietly
- Shut the front door quietly, the baby is asleep.
- say shut the front door
- She likes to say shut the front door instead of swearing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- no way
- No way is common and neutral, while shut the front door is jokier and more American.
- you're kidding
- You're kidding is a polite, ordinary expression of disbelief with no joke built in.
- get out
- Get out is a similar exclamation, a short version that sounds more abrupt.
- unbelievable
- Unbelievable is a plain statement of how you feel, without the teasing humor.
Word family
Commonly confused: shut the front door or shut your mouth?
shut the front door vs shut your mouth
This is a rude order to be silent. Shut the front door is a playful way of saying you are surprised.
Practice
"I just got a promotion!" "___! Congratulations!"
Choose one answer.
Shut the front door is an excited, joking reaction to news. Hold the line is a phone instruction, which does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shut the front door”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.