on tiptoe, on the tiptoe of expectation; aux aguets[obs3]; ready; curious &c. 455; looking forward to.
     expected &c. v.; long expected, foreseen; in prospect &c. n.;
prospective; in one’s eye, in one’s view, in the horizon, on the horizon, just over the horizon, just around the corner, around the corner; impending &c. (destiny) 152. 
     Adv. on the watch &c. adj.; with breathless expectation &c. n.; with
bated breath, with rapt anticipation; arrectis auribus[Lat]. 
     Phr. we shall see; nous verrons[Fr]; “expectation whirls me round”
[Troilus and Cressida]; the light at the end of the tunnel.

     #508.  Inexpectation. —­ N. inexpectation[obs3], non-expectation; false
expectation &c. (disappointment) 509; miscalculation &c. 481.
     surprise, sudden burst, thunderclap, blow, shock, start; bolt out of
the blue; wonder &c. 870; eye opener.
     unpleasant surprise, pleasant surprise. 
     V. not expect &c. 507; be taken by surprise; start; miscalculate &c.
481; not bargain for; come upon, fall upon.
     be unexpected &c. adj.; come unawares &c. adv.; turn up, pop, drop
from the clouds; come upon one, burst upon one, flash upon one, bounce upon one, steal upon one, creep upon one; come like a thunder clap, burst like a thunderclap, thunder bolt; take by surprise, catch by surprise, catch unawares, catch napping; yach [obs3][S.  Africa].
     pounce upon, spring a mine upon.
     surprise, startle, take aback, electrify, stun, stagger, take away
one’s breath, throw off one’s guard; astonish, dumbfound &c. (strike with wonder) 870. 
     Adj. nonexpectant[obs3]; surprised &c. v.; unwarned, unaware; off
one’s guard; inattentive 458.
     unexpected, unanticipated, unpredicted[obs3], unlooked for,
unforeseen, unhoped for; dropped from the clouds; beyond expectation, contrary to expectation, against expectation, against all expectation; out of one’s reckoning; unheard of &c. (exceptional) 83; startling, surprising; sudden &c. (instantaneous) 113.
     unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable) 519. 
     Adv. abruptly, unexpectedly, surprisingly; plump, pop, a
l’improviste[Fr], unawares; without notice, without warning, without a “by your leave”; like a thief in the night, like a thunderbolt; in an unguarded moment; suddenly &c. (instantaneously) 113. 
     Int. heydey[obs3]! &c. (wonder) 870. 
     Phr. little did one think, little did one expect; nobody would ever
suppose, nobody would ever think, nobody would ever expect; who would have thought? it beats the Dutch|!.

     #509. [Failure of expectation.] Disappointment.—­ N. disappointment;
blighted hope, balk; blow; anticlimax; slip ’twixt cup and lip; nonfulfillment of one’s hopes; sad disappointment, bitter disappointment; trick of fortune; afterclap; false expectation, vain expectation; miscalculation &c. 481; fool’s paradise; much cry and little wool.