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I ran into this phrase more than once now.
何を言い出すのかと思えば
I have found what 言い出す and かと思えば mean separately in dictionaries. I'm just not sure what they mean when put together. My first interpretation was "Tell me what you think."
But I don't know what would differentiate this phrase from just saying using 何 and 思う.
「何を言い出すのかと思えば」
is an expression used to describe how unexpected and/or surprising the (new) topic is that the other person has just brought up.
A more literal translation would be:
"Just when I was thinking what you/he/they might bring up, ~~."
To maintain the nuance of the original better, I might go with something like:
"You/he/they bring(s) this up all of a sudden."
Hope you can arrange that to fit the context the best.
My first interpretation was "Tell me what you think."
No, that is not what it means, I am afraid. It is almost a fixed expression for us native speakers.
