English · Idiom Historical

to pop the question

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To propose or make an offer of marriage. As this important demand is supposed to be unexpected, the question is said to be "popped.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

đề nghị hoặc đưa ra lời cầu hôn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to pop the question” mean?

To propose or make an offer of marriage. As this important demand is supposed to be unexpected, the question is said to be "popped.

Is “to pop the question” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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