Dictionary

place in the sun en · NOUN

Etymology

Possibly a calque of French place au soleil.

Meanings

1. (figuratively) A favorable position, characterized by comfort, success, wealth or general well-being.
   • And beyond the Christian orbit, other religious groups, at first Jews but then others as well, began to claim a place in the sun. 1992, Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, page 311:
   • that all conscious or seeming-conscious life is worthy of a place in the sun; that the hodman at his plough, the daisy in the field, and the lover with his lass, are alike a part of Nature's pageant 1908, Laurie Magnus, English literature in the nineteenth century: an essay in criticism, page 32:
2. (figuratively) Fame or recognition.
   • Jealousy is simply another way of demanding one's place in the sun – or under the domestic spotlight – a place in the center of the stage, as an exclusive object of consideration and attention. 1972, Ben Barr Lindsey with Wainwright Evans, The companionate marriage, page 72:
   • And I'm just waiting now, for my place in the sun / And I'm just waiting now, for peace to come 2019, “Hollywood”, in Ghosteen, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds:
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see place, sun.

Forms

Relateds

moment in the sun · made in the shade