light at the end of the tunnel
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light at the end of the tunnel
A sign that something difficult or unpleasant is almost at an end. I've been working on this book for over a year, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now that the doctors have been able to diagnose what's wrong with me, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
light at the end of the tunnel
The end of a difficult situation or task, the solution to a difficult problem. For example, It's taken three years to effect this merger, but we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel . This metaphoric expression dates from the 1800s, but became widespread only in the mid-1900s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
light at the end of the tunnel
COMMON If there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is hope that a difficult situation might be coming to an end. After horrific times we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. People feel hopeless. They don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
light at the end of the tunnel
a long-awaited indication that a period of hardship or adversity is nearing an end.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(see the) ˌlight at the end of the ˈtunnel
(see) the possibility of success, happiness, etc. in the future, especially after a long period of difficulty: Business has been bad recently, but I think we’re beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
light at the end of the tunnel
The prospect of success, relief, or escape after strenuous effort.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
light at the end of a tunnel, (see) the
A solution emerges at long last. This metaphor, evoking the end of a long, dark mining or railroad tunnel, came into widespread use only in the mid-twentieth century. It was used by President John F. Kennedy in a 1962 press conference on the Vietnam War and became common throughout that conflict. However, the image was used nearly a century earlier in a letter by English novelist George Eliot, and the expression also appeared in a letter from J. Middleton Murry to his wife, Katherine Mansfield (1922): “I begin to feel that the horror may move away and that there is a big round spot of real daylight at the end of the tunnel.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer