Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

more than one bargained for en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, uncountable) An unexpected and (usually) unwanted result of a decision or action.
    • 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.! 1919, Upton Sinclair, chapter 22, in Jimmie Higgins:
    • [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. 1987 July 27, Cristina Garcia, “Law: Casting A Net at Green River”, in TIME, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2025, 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. 2015 January 14, “Bull elephant gets too close for comfort in Thai park”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jan 2021, retrieved 23 May 2015:
    • This was more than he had bargained for, and he squeaked shrilly with the pain. 1874, Ambrose Bierce, “Fables of Zambri, the Parsee”, in Cobwebs From an Empty Skull: