tomber des nues

Meaning

to be flabbergasted

Concepts

be completely taken aback

bolt from the blue

out of nowhere

Translations

afallamak

aus allen Wolken fallen

nuvole

cadere dalle nuvole

caer de la higuera

şaşakalmak

cascare dalle nuvole

caer de las nubes

uit de lucht vallen

cadere dal cielo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɔ̃.be de ny/

Etymology

Cognate with Italian: cadere dalle nuvole

Cognate with Spanish: caer de las nubes

Cognate with German: aus allen Wolken fallen

In summary

Literally, “to fall from the clouds”. nues is not the adjective meaning "naked", but an old French noun meaning "cloud" (cf. nuage). Compare Italian cadere dalle nuvole, Spanish caer de las nubes, German aus allen Wolken fallen.