Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
the very idea en · NOUN
Meanings
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Used to indicate surprise or incredulity.
“Well, of all things!” cried the equally astonished Jane. “And here I have been wasting whole reams of perfectly good imagination picturing you in Baltimore—the very idea!” And she threw her arms about her friend once more, and kissed her a dozen times.
1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 111: