Idioms: ‘Out of the blue’

in Idioms

Out of the blue is a commonly used idiom. Do you know it?
It’s used to describe an event that happened (or is happening) unexpectedly, without warning or preparation.

Photo Credit: Christian Sherratt

Here are some examples:

Out of the blue, my parents decided to buy me a brand new car for my birthday.  I’m so happy.”

“I hate it when out of the blue, things start going wrong.”

Conversation example

Jim: Melissa, you’ve been a good secretary at our company for two years now.  Unfortunately, I have to let you go. We’ll pay you 2 months salary.

Melissa: Do you mean that you’re firing me?

Jim: Yeah, I’m afraid so. Out of the blue, our company lost millions of dollars this week in the global financial crisis.  This has forced us to fire most of the staff.

Melissa: This is terrible! You know I really love this job.  This whole thing is out of the blue for me. I still can’t believe it.

Jim: I know…I’m really sorry.

See if YOU can create some examples like these…  after you have created them, you can write them in the comments section below!

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Iris December 5, 2008 at 7:38 am

Mrs Li:Hi Ella,we’ll have an English examination tomorrow morning. Please tell your classmates,ok?
Ella:This is really out of blue for us, Mrs.Li. We haven’t prepared for it.
Mrs Li:Why haven’t you prepared for it in your spare time?
Ella:Umm…well I just wish it wasn’t out of blue for me.
Mrs Li: Hey, there’s no need to get nervous. Just keep a relaxed mood and believe in yourself.
Ella:Oh, I know…I will do my best!
Mrs Li:Hmm…Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.
Ella:See you.

Jenny Chen December 5, 2008 at 9:59 am

A:Hey, guess what ?
B: What ?
A:Yesterday, my boyfriend send me a bouquet of roses, it was really out of blue.
B:Well, that’s nice. But you know I don’t usually like people doing things out of blue. I don’t like surprises.
A:In my opinion, if nothing happens out of the blue, life will be too boring. I can’t stand it if that happens.
B:Ok. I understand. I’m afraid we have to end this topic now. We need to go to library.
A:That’s fine. Let’s go!

Makayla December 21, 2008 at 1:21 am

This is so out of the blue! Usually these examinations are quite difficult but this examination is very easy.

Greg and Ivy Cook January 8, 2009 at 6:07 am

Hi Iris! It’s a good situation to apply this idiom. Good work. We’ve just made a few changes to your dialogue. Keep it up!

Greg and Ivy Cook January 8, 2009 at 6:12 am

Hi Makayla! Your example was good but it needed some extra details. We just edited it to have those extra details. Well done!

Greg and Ivy Cook January 15, 2009 at 4:49 am

Jenny, your example for ‘out of the blue’ was really good. We particularly like the way you’ve tried to include it in a few places. Well done!

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