by one's own lights
- idiom
:
según su propio juicio
- Finding her way in the world, she navigated by her own lights, relying on her values and principles.
Examples
-
My mother, by her own lights, was no liar; she lived a good life, according to the ways such things are judged in the here and now, and gave a good life to me.
Fiction book (1994) -
At any rate by his own lights.
-
By his own lights, life was sweet.
Blog text (33) -
The cowgirl faces life head-on, lives by her own lights, and makes no excuses.
Blog text (21) -
She makes decisions by her own lights, trusting her intuition above all else.
-
He believes that everyone should live by their own lights, following their personal beliefs.
Synonyms
In the way someone thinks is best
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning depends on a metaphorical use of 'light' (= understanding, guidance), so a learner who recognises that figurative sense can compose 'by + one's own + lights' as 'according to one's own judgment'. However, the non-literal sense of 'light' (and the slightly idiomatic/plural phrasing) is not guaranteed to be known by an average B1 learner, so comprehension is only partial without prior exposure.
Etymology
By one's own lights comes from the picture of a person moving by their own small lights, so they see the world in their own way. So to act by one's own lights means to do something 'according to one's own judgment' rather than following others.
