bolt from the blue
noun phrase
variants
or less commonly bolt out of the blue
: a complete surprise : something totally unexpected
Examples of bolt from the blue in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Then on Thursday night, the news came like a bolt from the blue.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
Valverde’s bolt from the blue A minute in, Real Madrid used a strategy that became their go-to for much of the first half.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Fifty years later, Frampton Comes Alive remains completely synonymous with the artist as a proverbial bolt from the blue that elevated his career as one of the best-selling live albums of all-time and also cast a commercial shadow across the years that followed.
—Prof. Mike Alleyne Ph.d, Forbes.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Then, seemingly out of nowhere the missile appears on screens, headed towards the central U.S.
Hollywood loves to depict nuclear wars as starting with a bolt from the blue.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
And for the entire history of fire on planet Earth, the vast majority of fires have been set by these bolts from the blue.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
The bolt from the blue, however, came not from the heavens but rather from a private telephone.
—Charles Portis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
That insight, buttressed by the still frames, struck me like a bolt from the blue.
—Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Rizzle Kicks has learned not to question a bolt from the blue.
—Sophie Williams, Billboard, 19 Feb. 2025
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Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
Valverde’s bolt from the blue A minute in, Real Madrid used a strategy that became their go-to for much of the first half.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Fifty years later, Frampton Comes Alive remains completely synonymous with the artist as a proverbial bolt from the blue that elevated his career as one of the best-selling live albums of all-time and also cast a commercial shadow across the years that followed.
—Prof. Mike Alleyne Ph.d, Forbes.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Then, seemingly out of nowhere the missile appears on screens, headed towards the central U.S.
Hollywood loves to depict nuclear wars as starting with a bolt from the blue.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
And for the entire history of fire on planet Earth, the vast majority of fires have been set by these bolts from the blue.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
The bolt from the blue, however, came not from the heavens but rather from a private telephone.
—Charles Portis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
That insight, buttressed by the still frames, struck me like a bolt from the blue.
—Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Rizzle Kicks has learned not to question a bolt from the blue.
—Sophie Williams, Billboard, 19 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bolt from the blue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bolt%20from%20the%20blue. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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