# stop the presses

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/stop-the-presses
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

An exclamation used to introduce especially new, important, surprising, or recent developments.

## Examples

- Stop the presses, I finally finished my essay.
- Stop the presses, my brother is actually cleaning his own room today.
- Stop the presses, the manager just announced that we are all getting a surprise bonus this month.
- Stop the presses because the quietest student in our class just won the national debate competition.
- Stop the presses, the weather report says it might actually snow in this desert town tomorrow morning.
- Stop the presses, for the researchers have unexpectedly discovered a new species in the deepest part of the ocean.

## Origin

The term originates from the technical requirements of mid-19th-century newspaper production, where the physical printing process was halted to accommodate late-breaking information. To stop the presses was to interrupt a high-speed mechanical run so that the layout could be altered for an urgent development, a procedure that was both a logistical inconvenience and a commercial necessity for the trade.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.