out of the blue

When something happens out of the blue, it is a complete surprise. If you get a phone callout of the blue from an old friend, it's utterly unexpected.

Use the phrase out of the blue when you need a casual way to describe something that surprises you and possibly seems to come from nowhere. Your parents might announce, out of the blue, that they're moving to Mexico, for example. Another way to say out of the blue is from the clear blue sky. Both raise the image of something solid emerging magically from the sky.

DEFINITIONS OF:out of the blue

1

adjnot anticipated

“like a bolt out of the blue”

Synonyms:

unanticipated, unforeseen, unlooked-for

unexpected

not expected or anticipated

advin a way that was not expected

“her brother showed up at the wedding out of the blue”

Synonyms:

unexpectedly

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WORD FAMILY

out of the blue

the "out of the blue" family

USAGE EXAMPLES

• Mr Butler said the offer "came out of the blue" by a man who was "just so appalled at what happened".
  BBC Dec 14, 2013
• Out of the blue, he said, Mao turned up dressed in pajamas and a winter topcoat to pay respects to his father.
  New York Times Dec 7, 2013
• “They thought I was still in contact with Everton, but I told them you contacted me out of the blue.”
  New York Times Dec 4, 2013
• The victim told prosecutor Paul Kearney that the abuse began early in her pregnancy and was like "a blot out of the blue".
  BBC Nov 8, 2013

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