bolt from the blue

bolt from the blue
a bolt from the blue
Fig. a sudden surprise. (Alludes to a stroke of lightning from a cloudless sky.) •

Joe's return to Springfield was a bolt from the blue.

The news that Mr. and Mrs. King were getting a divorce struck all their friends as a bolt from the blue.

* * *
{n. phr.} Something sudden and unexpected; an event that you did not see coming; a great and usually unpleasant surprise; shock. * /We had been sure she was in Chicago, so her sudden appearance was a bolt from the blue./ * /His decision to resign was a bolt from the blue./ Compare: OUT OF THE BLUE.

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • bolt from the blue — If something happens unexpectedly and suddenly, it is a bolt from the blue …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • bolt from the blue — {n. phr.} Something sudden and unexpected; an event that you did not see coming; a great and usually unpleasant surprise; shock. * /We had been sure she was in Chicago, so her sudden appearance was a bolt from the blue./ * /His decision to resign …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Bolt from the blue — For the athlete referred to by the same name, see Usain Bolt A bolt from the blue is a form of lightning that strikes out of an apparently cloudless sky. In fact, it actually originates from the anvil cloud atop a thunderstorm which may be as far …   Wikipedia

  • bolt from the blue —    If something happens unexpectedly and suddenly, it is a bolt from the blue.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    To refer to something as a bolt from the blue means that it happened totally unexpectedly.     The chairman s resignation came… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • bolt\ from\ the\ blue — n. phr. Something sudden and unexpected; an event that you did not see coming; a great and usually unpleasant surprise; shock. We had been sure she was in Chicago, so her sudden appearance was a bolt from the blue. His decision to resign was a… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • bolt from the blue — unexpected and shocking surprise or event (e.g.: She had been working in the company for twenty years, so when she quit, it must have felt like a bolt from the blue ) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • bolt from the blue — See like a bolt from the blue …   English idioms

  • Bolt from the blue —   If something happens unexpectedly and suddenly, it is a bolt from the blue …   Dictionary of English idioms

  • bolt from the blue — Date: 1907 a complete surprise ; something totally unexpected called also bolt out of the blue …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • (a) bolt from the blue — a bolt from/out of/the blue phrase something that surprises you very much because you were not expecting it to happen It was a bolt out of the blue when Alan resigned. Thesaurus: surprises and shocking eventssynonym Main entry …   Useful english dictionary

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