like a bolt from the blue
Meaning: Completely unexpected, usually of bad news.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The news of the merger came like a bolt from the blue.”
Category: Nature
Origin: A bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky. Thomas Carlyle used "a bolt out of the blue" in The French Revolution (1837), and the image became common afterward.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Tomber comme un couperet — literally: To fall like a cleaver
More idioms — Nature
- hearts and flowers — Excessive sentimentality.
- a slippery slope — A small step that leads to worse and worse consequences.
- separate the wheat from the chaff — To distinguish what is valuable from what is worthless.
- promise the moon — To promise something impossible to deliver.
- Indian summer — A period of warm weather in autumn; also a late, happy period in life.
- drag someone's name through the mud — To damage someone's reputation publicly.
More English idioms
- set one's cap at — To try to attract someone as a romantic partner (dated).
- the big leagues — The highest, most competitive level of an activity.
- rich as Croesus — Extremely wealthy.
- everyone's a critic — A wry reply to unwanted criticism: it is easy to find fault.
- the pitcher goes to the well once too often — Repeated risk-taking eventually ends in disaster.
- a road to Damascus moment — A sudden, life-changing realization or conversion.
From our compliments & insults
- Hai le mani d'oro — You're extraordinarily skilled with your hands — a craftsperson, cook, or fixer of legend…
- Sei una persona d'oro — You're genuinely wonderful — kind, trustworthy, and precious to have in one's life.
- Che spettacolo! — You look absolutely stunning — a spontaneous burst of admiration for someone's appearance.