拍案 almost always opens a four-character phrase:
拍案叫绝 'to slap the table and cry superb',
拍案而起 'to slam the table and leap up in outrage' and
拍案惊奇 'to slap the table in amazement', the title of
凌濛初's Ming story collection 《
初刻拍案惊奇》.
案 is a long desk or table.
