eighth wonder

A marvel; an astonishing or surprising thing or event. This expression, often used sarcastically, implies that something is (or is scarcely) worthy of being classed with the so-called seven wonders of the ancient world: the Pyramids of Egypt, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Tomb of Mauso- lus, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, Colossus of Rhodes, statue of Jupiter by Phidias, and the Pharos of Alexandria. The English novelist Maria Edgeworth wrote in a letter in 1831, “A spoiled child of 30 whose mother and father . . . think him the 8th wonder of the world.” See also NINE-DAY WONDER