bolt from the blue, a

1. Also, a bolt out of the blue. A sudden, unexpected event. For example, Bill's dropping his life insurance was a bolt from the blue for his wife. This metaphoric term alludes to totally unforeseen lightning or thunder from a cloudless (blue) sky. [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

Of “Windermere,” the Oxford literary critic and cultural historian Michèle Mendelssohn writes: “The comedy’s success seemed like a bolt from the blue, a first-timer making a huge hit on his initial outing on the comic stage.”

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Carillion's collapse was for many people a bolt from the blue - a large UK company that had no obvious problems went bust in a little more than a year.

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Just as she was growing resigned to her loss, the postman rang with a bolt from the blue—a letter from overseas that was signed with her husband’s signature and urged her frantically to disregard any bad news concerning him.

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The unselfconscious catchiness of “HandClap” was a bolt from the blue – a new way to think about writing.

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But it's a sign of the relative dearth of such performers these days that Crutchfield as Waxahatchee feels like a bit of a bolt from the blue, a splash of freshness amid all the wannabe soul belters and glossy melisma addicts.

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