"Well I never" meaning

Vera   Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:48 am GMT
Dear friends, please tell me what on Earth "Well I never" might mean. It is supposed to be a colloquial expression. I've run into it in a book translated from French. Is it but an unfortunate translation?

Thank you,
Vera
ed munton   Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:18 pm GMT
It is an expression of surprise or curiosity.

The word "well" by itself can express surprise, usually followed by an exclamation mark when in print: "Well!". It can also express indignation or contemplation; the different meanings are conveyed by pronunciation or intonation.

The "I never" (which sometimes is expressed as "I never did" is a short form of "I never did hear of such a thing before", which of course emphasises the rarity of the event. Both these expressions are a little "old-fashioned" or out-of-date; you probably would only hear older people using it.

So together, "well I never..." could be surprise (usually) or indignation, and sometimes a combination of surprise and curiosity.

Difficult to describe enunciation in writing, but I'll give it a try:

for indignation: short clipped sounds (like a cross parent)
for surprise: up and down changes of tone (like an excited child)
for curiosity: slow and drawn out, fading towards the end.
Iain   Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:55 am GMT
It is self explantory.
Vera   Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:46 am GMT
Dear Ed,
Thank you for the exhaustive explanation!
Vera