tomber du ciel

French

Etymology

Literally, “to fall from the sky”. Compare Italian piovere dal cielo, English out of the blue.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔ̃.be dy sjɛl/

• Audio (Lyon):

  (file)

Verb

tomber du ciel

1. (figuratively) to fall into someone's lap, to be a godsend; to come out of nowhere

   L’argent ne tombe pas du ciel. ― Money doesn't grow on trees.

See also

• tomber des nues
• sortir de nulle part
• on n’a rien sans rien