English

Interjection

mirabile dictu

1. Wonderfully, amazingly; remarkable to say; It's a miracle!
   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula,ch. 7:

     And then, mirabile dictu, between the piers, leaping from wave to wave as it rushed at headlong speed, swept the strange schooner before the blast, with all sail set, and gained the safety of the harbour.

   • 1994 July 6, Rupert Cornwell, "Out of America: Piping plover gives an island resort the bird," The Independent (UK) (retrieved 23 Feb 2014):

     Nantucket is a pretty upmarket place. Mirabile dictu, this is one place in the US where not a McDonald's or Burger King is to be seen.

   • 2007 Sept. 4, Clyde Haberman, "A Labor Day Labor Forgot to Celebrate," New York Times (retrieved 23 Feb 2014):

     The Democratic-dominated Council recently tightened the rules governing campaign contributions by lobbyists but managed, mirabile dictu, to exempt Democratic-dominated unions from the new restrictions.

Translations

Related terms

• mirabile visu

See also

• sad to say