Meanings
- idiomaticUnexpectedly; without warning or preparation.
I really can't understand how something like this could simply pop up out of the blue.
4 more examples
After I hadn’t heard from her in six months, she called me out of the blue to meet for lunch.
I've never done good things / I've never done bad things / I never did anything out of the blue
1980, David Bowie, “Ashes to Ashes”I deckhanded on a fish boat for four years and knew no fisherman likes to be called out of the blue and have his numbers demanded!
2004, Stephen Hume, A Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Farming, →ISBN, page 210Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air.
2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivenot anticipated
adverbin a way that was not expected
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Short for out of the blue sky, likening an unexpected event to lightning or rain coming suddenly from a cloudless sky.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans uit die bloute
- uit die blouteunexpectedly
Arabic فَجْأَةً, عَلَى حِينِ غِرَّةٍ
- فَجْأَةً (fajʔatan)unexpectedly
- عَلَى حِينِ غِرَّةٍ (ʕalā ḥīni ḡirratin)unexpectedly
- عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ (ʕalā ḥīni ḡaflatin)unexpectedly
Chinese Mandarin 出其不意, 出乎意料
- 出其不意 (chūqíbùyì)unexpectedly
- 出乎意料 (chūhūyìliào)unexpectedly
Czech zčistajasna
- zčistajasnaunexpectedly
Danish ud af det blå
- ud af det blåunexpectedly
Dutch uit het niets, zomaar
- uit het nietsunexpectedly
- zomaarunexpectedly
Finnish yllättäen, kuin salama kirkkaalta taivaalta
- yllättäenunexpectedly
- kuin salama kirkkaalta taivaaltaunexpectedly
French comme un cheveu sur la soupe, comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles
- comme un cheveu sur la soupeunexpectedly
- comme un chien dans un jeu de quillesunexpectedly
- de nulle partunexpectedly
German (wie) aus heiterem Himmel, (wie) aus blauem Himmel
- (wie) aus heiterem Himmelunexpectedly
- (wie) aus blauem Himmelunexpectedly
- aus dem Nichtsunexpectedly
- aus dem Blauen herausunexpectedly
Hungarian a semmiből, hirtelen
- a semmibőlunexpectedly
- hirtelenunexpectedly
- váratlanulunexpectedly
- meglepetésszerűenunexpectedly
Icelandic eins og þruma úr heiðskíru lofti, eins og skrattinn úr sauðaleggnum
- eins og þruma úr heiðskíru loftiunexpectedly
- eins og skrattinn úr sauðaleggnumunexpectedly
- sem reiðarslagunexpectedly
- eins og þruma úr heiðríkjuunexpectedly
- öllum að óvörumunexpectedly
Italian inaspettatamente, di punto in bianco
- inaspettatamenteunexpectedly
- di punto in biancounexpectedly
- come un fulmine a ciel serenounexpectedly
- dal nullaunexpectedly
Japanese 藪から棒, 出し抜け
- 藪から棒unexpectedly
- 出し抜けunexpectedly
Korean 갑자기
- 갑자기 (gapjagi)unexpectedly
Latin inexspectate
- inexspectateunexpectedly
Lithuanian lyg perkūnas iš giedro dangaus
- lyg perkūnas iš giedro dangausunexpectedly
Māori matawhawhati, whāia ka/kua (nei)
- matawhawhatiunexpectedly
- whāia ka/kua (nei)unexpectedly
Norwegian ut av det blå, som lyn fra klar himmel
- ut av det blåunexpectedly
- som lyn fra klar himmelunexpectedly
Polish jak grom z jasnego nieba, ni stąd, ni zowąd
- jak grom z jasnego niebaunexpectedly
- ni stąd, ni zowądunexpectedly
Portuguese do nada, da cartola
- do nadaunexpectedly
- da cartolaunexpectedly
- à toaunexpectedly
Romanian din senin
- din seninunexpectedly
Spanish de la nada, de repente
- de la nadaunexpectedly
- de repenteunexpectedly
- de sopetónunexpectedly
- como caído de las nubesunexpectedly
Swedish som en blixt från klar himmel
- som en blixt från klar himmelunexpectedly
Ukrainian як сніг на голову, як грім з я́сного не́ба
- як сніг на голову (jak snih na holovu)unexpectedly
- як грім з я́сного не́ба (jak hrim z jásnoho néba)unexpectedly
- як грім се́ред я́сного не́ба (jak hrim séred jásnoho néba)unexpectedly
Vietnamese đang không
- đang khôngunexpectedly
Cite this entry
out of the blue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20the%20blue
“out of the blue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20the%20blue. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “out of the blue,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20the%20blue.
Source: out of the blue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.