Meaning of next thing one knows | Babel Free

Definitions

suddenly, out of the blue.

colloquial, idiomatic

Examples

“([Milton Dosantos]) just said they were on the roof and the next thing they knew, they were flat on their backs”

“He had three fingers on one hand because one of them had been shot off, and he'd sit there doing this and next thing you know, out would come this three-dimensional folded cage or a box or cranes or snails. Really remarkable.”

“Roy: You remember the woman from last night? She seemed lovely, right? Moss: She was a delight. Roy: Yeah. We get outside, there's a group of tramps, two of whom she knows by name. She starts screaming at them, "You owe me money! You owe me money!" She thinks that the tramps owe her money. Next thing I know, it all kicks off. I'm running for my life. It was a horrible evening, a really horrible evening, and she's a really horrible woman. Moss: Right. But you slept with her? Roy: Yeah.”

CEFR level