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Michelle Cha Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Guernica was nothing like a bolt from above.

We know a lot about how the painting was created, because all forty-five preliminary sketches are numbered and dated. And guess what? Guernica was nothing like a bolt from above. Rather the sketches show how Picasso wielded the knowledge built up over thirty years to construct the multiple payers: the first sketch, underpinning the overall structure, is based on Picasso’s earlier work

What does underlined sentence mean?
  

Top answer

That is, Picasso did not suddenly get an inspiration from above and start right into painting Guernica, from scratch. Rather, the painting was based on 45 preliminary sketches.

  • That is, Picasso did not suddenly get an inspiration from above and start right into painting Guernica, from scratch.
  • Rather, the painting was based on 45 preliminary sketches.
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4 Answers
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That is, Picasso did not suddenly get an inspiration from above and start right into painting Guernica, from scratch. Rather, the painting was based on 45 preliminary sketches.
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So, what other word can replace 'bolt' here?
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Michelle ChaSo, what other word can replace 'bolt' here?
None.
"A bolt out of the blue" is the most common idiom. Because it is an idiom, the individual words have different meanings in this context than in their dictionary entries.

This dictionary has a large section on idioms:
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A bolt from above / a bolt from the blue

The literal reference is a discharge of lightning from a clear sky.
The idiomatic meaning is a completely unexpected event.

Clive

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