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

Now their "place in the sun" has little relief from the baking August heat - and the forest fires that have plagued France over the summer.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2022

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

Slowly, suddenly, though, a shadow is creeping into Uruguay’s place in the sun.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2021

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

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