The news of his sudden resignation was a bolt from the blue.
bolt from the blue
idiom B1
A complete surprise; something totally unexpected.
Origin
first recorded 19th c.A lightning bolt from a clear blue sky; popularised by Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution (1837).
The company closing its doors without any warning came as a total bolt from the blue for all the employees.
Her unexpected decision to move across the country arrived like a bolt from the blue, leaving her family in a state of complete shock.
- 01
blue chamber
A forbidden room.
- 02
blue devils
Low spirits; depression.
- 03
blue moon
A long time.
- 04
blue note
The flatted 5th scale degree in the blues scale.
- 05
blue ribbon
Highly superior in quality, style, substance, prestige, etc.
- 06
blue state
A state of the United States voting Democratic in a given election, or tending to vote Democratic in general.
- 07
blue wall of silence
Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.
- 08
bolt bucket
A machine, especially an automobile. Implies that the machine is clunky or unreliable.