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.
See also: end, light, of, 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.
See also: end, light, of, tunnel
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.
See also: end, light, of, 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.
See also: end, light, of, tunnel
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.
See also: end, light, of, tunnel
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

light at the end of the tunnel

The prospect of success, relief, or escape after strenuous effort.
See also: end, light, of, tunnel
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.”
See also: end, light, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive ?
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Clearly, these are difficult economic times and the light at the end of the tunnel appears to be getting farther and farther away.
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As Corning CEO Jamie Houghton quipped to Chief Executive last month, "We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We just don't know how long the tunnel is."
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Other religious monuments like the Glory Hole and various other tube-like th eology attract yearly pilgrimages from devoted followers who rabidly wander the globe in search of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Their work will never stop and it is getting even harder to do nowadays.
The trail never goes cold
Of his unfortunate injury, he added: "I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel."
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Some of the emotionally wounded are emerging from the shock phase of recovery, seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, but most importantly, gathering a sense of mission about what happened and what must be done.
Needed: determination and vision. (President's Page)
We felt misrepresented in that decision." However, as Bishop Jim Cruickshank visited communities to reassure people, "we began to see that light at the end of the tunnel."
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We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel very positive we will see substantive change in the next couple years.
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and Quotesmith.com, two of the leaders in the market, say they see light at the end of the tunnel.
Insurance aggregators see opportunity in tough market. (Technology)
The light at the end of the tunnel that is being promised is that ultimately, the industry will be better off when capacity is more in line with demand.
Editor's focus
He presents a hopeful message that sexual addiction can be overcome and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. (email:caringministries@earthlink.net)
Matters of Faith
2 MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ, THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES (Knopf, 2000) Ideal summer reading: unremittingly depressing, with little or no light at the end of the tunnel. A fine riposte to the lazy liberalism and bourgeois hedonism of the soixante-huit-ers, a generation Michel Houellebecq so rightly despises.
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