light at the end of the tunnel

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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.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby light at the end of the tunnel

light air, light-armed, Light Armored Vehicle, light artillery, light as a feather, light at the end of the tunnel, lightboard, lightboat, light bomber, light box, light bread

How to use light at the end of the tunnel in a sentence

Yet this, in the end, is a book from which one emerges sad, gloomy, disenchanted, at least if we agree to take it seriously.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the end, the clarity that comes from moments of horror can help us recommit to deeper principles.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the end, I find it never fails to modernize even the most dramatic things.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Kennedy: "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind."
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Behold a dumpy, comfortable British paterfamilias in a light flannel suit and a faded sun hat.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
I presume the twenty-five or thirty miles at this end is unhealthy, even for natives, but it surely need not be so.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
She did not need a great cook-book; She knew how much and what it took To make things good and sweet and light.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
On to Gaba Tepe just in time to see the opening, the climax and the end of the dreaded Turkish counter attack.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills