place in the sun

English

Etymology

Possibly a calque from French place au soleil[1].

Noun

place in the sun (plural places in the sun)

  1. (figuratively) A favorable position.
    • 1908, Laurie Magnus, English literature in the nineteenth century: an essay in criticism, page 32:
      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
    • 1992, Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada‎, page 311:
      And beyond the Christian orbit, other religious groups, at first Jews but then others as well, began to claim a place in the sun.
  2. (figuratively) Recognition, fame.
    • 1972, Ben Barr Lindsey, The companionate marriage‎, page 72:
      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.
  3. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see place,‎ sun.

References

  1. ↑ Blaise Pascal (a. 1662) Pensées: “Mien, tien – Ce chien est à moi, disaient ces pauvres enfants. C'est là ma place au soleil. Voilà le commencement et l'image de l'usurpation de toute la terre.”
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