come out of left field

idiom

US, informal
: to be very surprising and unexpected
That question came out of left field.

Examples of come out of left field in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This potential development doesn’t come out of left field. Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 To some fans, the news may seem to have come out of left field, particularly given her previous high-profile relationships with fellow actors Zac Efron and Austin Butler. Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Feb. 2023 All that aside, the only thing here is that after the prologue, the first episode may come out of left field. Ollie Barder, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022 So did the opportunities to return in She-Hulk and Shang-Chi come out of left field? Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 Hearing that no one has duplicated Ouimet’s first-time feat did not come out of left field for Hervol. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2022 This didn’t come out of left field. John Benson, cleveland, 13 June 2022 Friday’s announcement didn’t come out of left field. Luca Evans, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2022 Can Oklahoma State come out of left field to bump the Bearcats? Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 23 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come out of left field.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come out of left field

Cite this Entry

“Come out of left field.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20out%20of%20left%20field. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!