bolt out of the blue

A form of bolt from the blue — A complete surprise; something totally unexpected.

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Meanings

nounbolt out of the blue (plural bolts out of the blue)

plural bolts out of the blue

  1. alternativeAlternative form of bolt from the blue.
    1 more example

    One day while I was working at my full-time job, David called me. He said, "I don't like all the trouble you're having with your house, and I'd like to do something for you." It came as a bolt out of the blue. I tried to put him off, feeling embarrassed, but David made it easy to accept his beneficence.

    1984 December 15, Nancy Walker, “Remembering David Stryker”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 22, page 5
Cite this entry
APA

bolt out of the blue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolt%20out%20of%20the%20blue

MLA

“bolt out of the blue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolt%20out%20of%20the%20blue. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bolt out of the blue,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolt%20out%20of%20the%20blue.

Source: bolt out of the blue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.