out of left field
Totally without warning
Out of left field describes something unexpected, surprising, or seemingly random—appearing without warning or obvious connection to what came before.
The phrase comes from baseball, where a throw from left field travels the longest distance to home plate, arriving from an unlikely direction.
That question came completely out of left field.
His resignation announcement was out of left field—nobody saw it coming.
Causing sudden surprise
- shockingCausing intense surprise
- unforeseenNot predicted or expected
- unanticipatedNot predicted beforehand
- blindsidingSurprising with sudden impact
jolting · jarring · disconcerting · bewildering · flabbergasting · staggering · astonishing · mind-blowing
Field beyond bases
- fly ballBatted ball aloft
- foul lineBoundary marking violations
- line driveSharply hit ball, flat trajectory
- pop flyHigh, catchable baseball hit
shortstop · third base · inning · double play · error · pitcher · catcher · diamond
Contrary to accepted practice
- offbeatPleasantly strange or unusual
- quirkyIdiosyncratically unusual
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- idiosyncraticDistinctively individual in nature
nonconformist · avant-garde · original · innovative · experimental · radical · alternative · outside the box
startling
Causing sudden surprise
- shockingCausing intense surprise
- unforeseenNot predicted or expected
- unanticipatedNot predicted beforehand
blindsiding · jolting · jarring · disconcerting · bewildering · flabbergasting · staggering · astonishing · mind-blowing · caught off guard
outfield
Field beyond bases
- fly ballBatted ball aloft
- foul lineBoundary marking violations
- line driveSharply hit ball, flat trajectory
pop fly · shortstop · third base · inning · double play · error · pitcher · catcher · diamond · dugout
unorthodox
Contrary to accepted practice
- offbeatPleasantly strange or unusual
- quirkyIdiosyncratically unusual
- eccentricUnconventional in character
idiosyncratic · nonconformist · avant-garde · original · innovative · experimental · radical · alternative · outside the box · wild card
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- sports idiomsdrop the ball, throw in the towel, slam dunk, hit it out of the park, knock it out of the park
- baseballbaseball, bat, pitchers, catchers, pitcher
out of left fieldpredictable
Able to be foreseen
expected · anticipated · foreseeable · unsurprising · foreseen
out of left fieldconventional
Following accepted practices
orthodox · mainstream · standard · run-of-the-mill · typical
field, left, unexpected, leftist, left-handed, lefthand, leftists, leftism, left-hander