a bolt from the blue
a bolt out of the blue

And then it hit her like a bolt from the blue.

The agreement of 1987 was not a bolt from the blue.

First, that for the teachers this decision came like a bolt from the blue.

Inspiration hit me like a bolt from the blue on the way home.

For the ambitious young man this was, as he later wrote, a bolt from the blue.

And then, as a bolt from the blue, I was struck by the great inspiration.

"It came as a bolt from the blue," he said.

Our aunt is, in the beautiful common expression, a bolt from the blue.

At times there is a bolt from the blue.

The assault on the bridges must, therefore, come like a bolt from the blue.

But just when everything seems to be running smoothly there is a bolt from the blue."

But for many longtime members, the decision came like a bolt from the blue - and a cruel one at that.

It came as a complete shock, like a bolt from the blue, that revealed his power, but now everything was in place.

Like a bolt from the blue, the idea struck!

Pansy's husband was struck down as if like a bolt from the blue.

This realization came like a bolt from the blue.

Like a bolt from the blue, like something that might happen on the road to Damascus.

It was a bolt from the blue and in this case it affects me.

You cannot simply act as if the Commission suddenly received this knowledge in May like a bolt from the blue!

And every time a bolt from the blue heads in your direction, you must ask yourself: What is this trying to awaken me to?

Similarly, "A bolt from the blue" refers to something totally unexpected.

He homed in on the red-cloaked figure like a bolt from the blue.

"This was really a bolt from the blue, and it's just the right thing at the right time," the businessman said.

Mr. Levin's proposal is a bolt from the blue for several reasons.

But is there any way to tell in advance whether your house is a potential target for a bolt from the blue?