bolt (redirected from boults)

bolt something down 

1. Lit. to fasten something down securely with bolts. Did anyone bolt the washing machine down? Someone should bolt down this washing machine.

2. Fig. to eat something too rapidly. Don't bolt your food down. She bolted down her dinner and ran out to play.

bolt from the blue

Fig. a sudden surprise. (Alludes to a stroke of lightning from a cloudless sky.) Joe's return to Springfield was a bolt from the blue. The news that Mr. and Mrs. King were getting a divorce struck all their friends as a bolt from the blue.

See also: blue

bolt out (of some place)

to run out of some place very quickly. Frank bolted out of the room in a flash. I bolted out after him.

See also: out

get down to the nuts and bolts

Fig. to get down to the basic facts. (See also nuts and bolts) Stop fooling around. Get down to the nuts and bolts. Let's stop wasting time. We have to get down to the nuts and bolts.

See also: and, get, nuts

like a bolt out of the blue and like a bolt from the blue

Fig. suddenly and without warning. (Alludes to a bolt of lightning coming out of a clear blue sky.) The news came to us like a bolt from the blue. Like a bolt out of the blue, the boss came and fired us all.

See also: blue, like, out

make a bolt for someone or something

Fig. to run quickly to or at someone or something. The child came into the room and made a bolt for her mother. The dog made a bolt for the door.

See also: make

nuts and bolts 

1. Fig. the mundane workings of something; the basics of something. (See also get down to the nuts and bolts.) I want you to learn how to write well. You have to know the nuts and bolts of writing. She's got a lot of good, general ideas, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of getting something done, she's no good.

2. Sl. the subject of psychology in college. I took a class in nuts and bolts and didn't learn anything at all about what makes me tick. Tom is flunking nuts and bolts because he won't participate in the required "experiments."

See also: and, nuts

Shut the stable door after the horse has bolted. and Lock the stable door after the horse is stolen.

Prov. To try to prevent something that has already happened; to act too late. When Ray heard that the bank had failed, he tried to withdraw his money, but there was no money to withdraw. He was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted. Jenny has stopped smoking since the doctor told her that her lungs were in bad shape, but I'm afraid she's locking the stable door after the horse is stolen.

See also: after, door, has, horse, shut, stable

sit bolt upright

to sit up straight. Tony sat bolt upright and listened to what the teacher was saying to him. After sitting bolt upright for almost an hour in that crowded airplane, I swore I would never fly again.

See also: sit, upright

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a bolt from the blue  also a bolt out of the blue

something that you do not expect to happen and that surprises you very much The news that they had got married was a bolt from the blue. He seemed to be very happy in his job, so his resignation came as a bolt out of the blue.

See also: blue

bolt upright

in a position where you are sitting up with your back very straight He woke to see her sitting bolt upright beside him and wondered what was the matter.

See shoot bolt

See also: upright

closing/shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted

trying to stop something bad happening when it has already happened and the situation cannot be changed Improving security after a major theft would seem to be a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

See also: after, door, has, horse, stable

shoot your bolt

to use all your energy trying to do something, so that you do not have enough energy left to finish it (never in continuous tenses) By the end of the third lap it was obvious that she had shot her bolt, and the Canadian runner took the lead.

See also: shoot

the nuts and bolts

the basic, practical details of a job or other activity (often + of ) Law school teaches wonderful theory but it doesn't teach the nuts and bolts of actually practising law.

See also: and, nuts

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bolt upright

vertical and straight She suddenly awoke from her nightmare and sat bolt upright in bed.

Usage notes: usually used with sit and usually used after the verb, as in the example

See also: upright

like a bolt from the blue also like a bolt out of the blue

suddenly and unexpectedly Quinn's announcement that he is quitting came like a bolt from the blue.

Etymology: based on the idea of a bolt (flash) of lightning that comes suddenly from the sky

See also: blue, like