out of thin air

English

Alternative forms

• from thin air

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adverb

out of thin air (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) from non-existent, unknown or hidden resources

   They don't seem to want to work to earn a living. They think they can make money out of thin air.

   • 2019 April 6, Caleb Quinley, “Thailand: Anti-military party leader faces sedition charges”, in Al Jazeera‎^[1], Doha: Al Jazeera, retrieved 2019-04-06:

     "The criminal cases against Thanathorn show the military government's contempt for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful dissent. It's a glaring example of how draconian laws are pulled out of thin air and arbitrarily enforced to punish the prominent opposition leader," he said.

Usage notes

• This is often preceded by verbs such as create or make.

Synonyms

• out of nowhere

Translations

from non-existent resource

• Danish: ud af den blå luft
• Finnish: tyhjästä
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: fuori dal cilindro, dal nulla
• Portuguese: do nada (pt)
• Russian: из воздуха (iz vozduxa)

See also

• hammerspace
• into thin air
• thin air