bolt from / out of the blue

/bˈəʊlt fɹɒm ˌaʊtəv ðə blˈuː/

/bˈoʊlt fɹʌm ˌaʊɾəv ðə blˈuː/

[phrase]

[PHRASE]

news or an event that causes a great surprise

Examples

1. And it turns out that 80% of people had experienced some kind of bolt from the blue!

2. We tend to think of Pearl Harbor as a bolt from the blue that the United States was minding its own business and the Japanese came along and started World War II.

3. We call that a bolt from the blue because there can actually be sun shining but if there's a storm next to you nearby you can actually get struck by lightning and killed.

4. It's not like I have one bolt out of the blue and suddenly the idea is perfectly formed.