light at the end of the tunnel

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

light at the end of the tunnel (countable and uncountable, plural lights at the end of the tunnel)

1. (idiomatic) A better situation after long hardship.
   • 1999, Abraham J Twerski, It's Not As Tough As You Think: How to Smooth Out Life's Bumps:

     If there is no light at the end of the tunnel, chronic pain can render a person dysfunctional. In desperation, people often turn to potent pain-killing medication for relief.

   • 2008 January 15, CIO, volume 21, number 7:

     But by fall 2005, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The team could see the new business processes and financial data governance mechanisms actually being used by Nationwide employees.

2. A vision of a bright light, surrounded by darkness, seen by a dying person

Translations

a better situation after long hardship

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 柳暗花明 (zh) (liǔ'ànhuāmíng)

• Czech: světlo na konci tunelu (cs)
• Finnish: valopilkku (fi)
• French: bout du tunnel m, voir le bout du tunnel (fr)
• German: Licht am Ende des Tunnels n
• Greek: φως στο τούνελ n (fos sto toúnel)
• Hungarian: fény az alagút végén
• Italian: luce in fondo al tunnel f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lys i enden av tunnelen

• Polish: światełko w tunelu n
• Portuguese: a luz no fim do túnel
• Russian: свет в конце́ тонне́ля (svet v koncé tonnélja)
• Spanish: luz al final del túnel f