astonisher

Noun

astonisher (plural astonishers)

1. Something that astonishes; an astonishing thing or event.
   • (colloquial)
   • […] the railroad between Leghorn and Pisa […] has already begun to astonish Italy with a precedent of punctuality, order, plain dealing, and improvement—the most dangerous and heretical astonisher of all.1846, Charles Dickens, Pictures from Italy, London: […] Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, page 156

   Synonyms:

   astonishment, marvel, surprise, wonder, shocker, stunner

2. Someone who astonishes.
   • […] God, before whom all Nations are as nothing, thou Astonisher of all Flesh, thou art even too Wonderful for me,1675, William Bayly, “The Life of Enoch again Revived”, in A Collection of the Several Wrightings of […] William Bayly, published 1676, page 146
   • […] when they [the guides for tourists] excite an exclamation of wonder, they never sympathise with it, but treat it as a matter of course that you should be the astonished, and they the astonishers.1843, Mr. & Mrs. S. C. Hall, Ireland: Its Scenery, Character, &c., London: Jeremiah How, Volume 3, p. 155, footnote
3. (US) An exclamation mark, the punctuation mark “!”.
   • “ […] Nothing whatever” ! (the italics are “S. S. C.’s,” the “astonisher” is mine.)1874, The American Observer, New Series, Volume 1, “Rejoinder,” p. 525
   • More often than not these prophets […] belong to the oh-the-wonder-of-it-all school, who point to the sky as the new and sole artery of travel and transportation and marvel, in complete awe—which they indicate by running over with astonishers!—at the thought of monstrous planes hauling the freight...1947, Stewart Holbrook, The Story of American Railroads, American Legacy Press, 1981, Chapter 39, p. 443
4. (US) A short line of smaller type above (or sometimes below) the main headline of an article, usually placed flush-left.

   Synonyms:

   kicker, overline, read-in, whiplash

5. A headline or lead (introductory paragraph) designed to capture attention through a surprising statement.
   • He reveled in socking the reader right in the eye with an “astonisher.”1969, Shandy Hill, chapter 17, in Dear Sir: You Cur, Philadelphia: Whitmore Publishing, page 119

   Synonyms:

   cartridge lead, punch lead, shocker lead