out of thin air

• from thin air

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

out of thin air (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) From nowhere or nothing; from a non-existent or unknown source.

   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 6 April 2019:

     "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.

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

• out of nowhere

• ex nihilo
• hammerspace
• into thin air
• pull out of one's ass
• thin air