Idiom of the week: Out of the blue

For this week, I' ve chosen an idiom related to a colour. Let's leave food aside for a while.

The colour of my choice is blue. Beautiful, isn't it? And so varied. There's navy blue, electric blue, baby blue... 

There are many idioms containing the word "blue", but probably "out of the blue" is one of the best-known. It is normally used as an adverb of manner, to talk about something that happens unexpectedly. For example, "the news came out of the blue" or "she inherited a fortune out of the blue".

It is widely believed that "blue" here refers to the colour of the sky, and the unexpected part could be a lightning. Personally I find it pretty graphic, and thus easy to remember -can there be a bigger surprise than a lightning coming from a clear, cloudless sky? 

The idiom of this week comes with a "tip of the week": whenever possible, try to include an idiom or two in your essays, preferentially at the end. It'll provide your writing with an aftertaste of originality and uniqueness -and that means extra points! Believe me, an idiom out of the blue every now and then leaves the reader bewitched.