out of the blue
突然に
解説 Definition
何の予兆もなく突然に起こること。予想外の出来事を表す表現。
Out of the blue means suddenly and unexpectedly, without any warning. It is used when something surprising happens or someone appears with no earlier sign. This idiom is common in informal spoken and written English.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
blue に「憂うつ」の意味を当てはめようとせず、この句は丸ごと「前触れゼロで飛び込んでくる出来事」として覚えるのが近道です。澄んだ空を見ているのに、そこへ何かが急に現れる場面を頭に固定すると残ります。よく happen, appear, call, text, news などと結びつき、The news came out of the blue. のように使います。suddenly が単に「急に」なのに対し、out of the blue は「まったく予想していなかった」という驚きまで含むのがポイントです。
Do not focus on `blue` by itself; remember the whole phrase as one image. Something suddenly appears from a clear blue sky, with no warning at all. That is why `out of the blue` is stronger than `suddenly`: it adds surprise and lack of expectation.
例文
Out of the blue, my old classmate called me after ten years.
突然、10年ぶりに昔のクラスメートから電話がかかってきた。
The announcement came out of the blue and shocked everyone.
その発表は突然で、全員が驚いた。
She quit her job out of the blue without telling anyone.
彼女は誰にも言わずに突然仕事を辞めた。
out of the blue の類義語・関連語
紛らわしい語
out of the blue の語源・成り立ち Etymology
blueは古フランス語bleuに由来し、out of the blueは青空から不意に何かが現れる比喩です。何の前触れもない空から来る感じが「突然に」へつながり、bluishやbluebirdはblueと同じ語を含みます。
In "out of the blue," "blue" comes through Old French bleu. The phrase is based on the image of something suddenly appearing from a clear blue sky. Because such an appearance would come without warning, the expression developed the sense of something happening unexpectedly. Related words include "bluish" and "bluebird."
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