place in the sun

Idioms  

1. A dominant or favorable position or situation, as in The Nobel prizewinners really enjoyed their place in the sun. This term may have been coined about 1660 by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal but became well known only in the late 1800s, when it was applied to Germany's position in world affairs, especially concerning its desire for more lands.

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Example Sentences

"Pacific governments are relishing their place in the sun," Gordon Peake, a senior adviser for the Pacific Islands at the United States Institute of Peace told the AFP News Agency.

From BBC • May 22, 2023

What this story reveals is how easily governmental institutions can be destroyed when people are led astray by intoxicating notions of a place in the sun.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

The iconic film starred Sandra Dee as Francine Lawrence, who finds her place in the sun among a tight-knit clan of Malibu surfers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2019

So don’t be shocked when you turn up at your hard-won summer holiday, sun-screened and ready to de-stress, only to encounter fellow vacationers jostling for your place in the sun.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2017

Isn’t it time we admitted that the contraction has earned its place in the sun?

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner