like a bolt from the blue vs like a bolt out of the blue

Both phrases are correct and commonly used in English. They convey the idea of something happening suddenly and unexpectedly. The choice between 'from the blue' and 'out of the blue' is a matter of personal preference, as both are idiomatic expressions with the same meaning.

Last updated: March 23, 2024 • 989 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe something happening suddenly and unexpectedly.

"like a bolt from the blue"

This phrase is an idiomatic expression that means something happens suddenly and unexpectedly, like a lightning bolt appearing unexpectedly from a clear blue sky.

Show examples from the web [+]

First, that for the teachers this decision came like a bolt from the blue.
In the midst of our work for ever closer integration of the European Union, the Georgian-Russian conflict has come like a bolt from the blue to remind us that force makes decisions even in the 21st century.
Like a bolt from the blue.
It's called a bolt from the blue.
The economic crisis that currently plagues the markets did not come as a bolt from the blue.
It was a bolt from the blue and in this case it affects me.
Madam President, the events taking place in Albania do not come as a bolt from the blue.
It has therefore now come as a bolt from the blue that an unholy alliance of Conservatives, Liberals and extremists is threatening to reject the accounts for 1996.
And don't think it was a bolt from the blue, a bewilderment!
Mr President, this summer's catastrophic fires and floods in Greece as well as in Italy, Portugal, Great Britain and other EU countries, are not a bolt from the blue.
A bolt out of the blue.
I understand it's a bolt out of the blue, sir.
Did you see a bolt of blue-green light envelop Travis Walton?
This Alex hit us like a bolt from the sky.
It was like a bolt of lightning kick-started my heart.
And it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
Thirty seconds ago, I was lost, just in a total fog... and then it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
My affair with Luna began like a bolt of lightning.
IRENE: When they closed the doors - when I heard that knock on the outside... like a bolt closing us in there - it wasn't normal anymore.
He shot out of there like a bolt of lightning.

Alternatives:

like a bolt out of the blue

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to convey the idea of something happening suddenly and unexpectedly.

"like a bolt out of the blue"

This phrase is an idiomatic expression that means something happens suddenly and unexpectedly, like a lightning bolt appearing unexpectedly from a clear blue sky.

Show examples from the web [+]

A bolt out of the blue.
I understand it's a bolt out of the blue, sir.
Like a bolt from the blue.
First, that for the teachers this decision came like a bolt from the blue.
He shot out of there like a bolt of lightning.
In the midst of our work for ever closer integration of the European Union, the Georgian-Russian conflict has come like a bolt from the blue to remind us that force makes decisions even in the 21st century.
It was like a bolt of lightning kick-started my heart.
And it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
Thirty seconds ago, I was lost, just in a total fog... and then it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
My affair with Luna began like a bolt of lightning.
IRENE: When they closed the doors - when I heard that knock on the outside... like a bolt closing us in there - it wasn't normal anymore.
Yesterday, when the defendant and i looked at each other for the first time, it was like a bolt of lightning hit us right here.
This Alex hit us like a bolt from the sky.
I'm sure it would have struck you like a bolt of lightening.
Before that rope snaps, it'll hit you like a bolt of lightning...
One night... it hit me like a... like a bolt of lightning.
Right, but what if it were some kind of protuberance, like a bolt or something?
And suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, the answer came to him.
It's called a bolt from the blue.
Had to bolt out of there.

Alternatives:

like a bolt from the blue

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like a bolt from the blue vs like a bolt out of the blue