简体

out of the blue
出乎意料

Quote

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Definition

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without warning

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Imagine it’s a beautiful, sunny day. There’s not a cloud in the sky. You’re lying on your back in a beautiful field, looking up. Then a little dot appears in the sky, and suddenly you see a bird, or a plane. You hadn’t seen anything before. Out of the blue of the sky, where before there was nothing, an object has appeared.

Or maybe you’re lying in the field on that same beautiful day. The weather was supposed to be perfect, but, all of a sudden, the clouds come in, the sky gets dark, and it begins to rain. Before you know it, you’re soaking wet. Out of the blue sky came an unexpected rainstorm.

Simply put, if something happens out of the blue, it’s unexpected, like that airplane or that rainstorm. It could be positive or negative. You simply didn’t expect it to be coming, or at least not at the time it came.

Kevin Bacon was on set, working on his new TV show, when a visitor stopped by. It was chef Rachael Ray, with a meal for him. He hadn’t expected the visitor, or the meal. Both arrived out of the blue.

When was the last time something happened to you out of the blue? How do you feel about surprises?

Examples

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“She didn’t call to tell anyone she was coming. She just showed up out of the blue.”

“The hiring manager at my new company called me out of the blue. I hadn’t even been looking for a new job!”

“It was totally out of the blue when he asked me out. I didn’t think he liked me!”