object lesson
6
6.1
- noun
- /ˈɑbdʒɛkt ˈlɛsən/
:
lección ejemplar
- The sudden closure of the factory served as an object lesson for other businesses about the risks of ignoring safety regulations.
- provide an object lesson
- offers an object lesson
And I hope it's an object lesson for anyone on the left who has such an itchy trigger finger.
- And I hope it's an object lesson for anyone on the left who has such an itchy trigger finger.
Examples
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Robertson’s skillful and imaginative use of the media has been an object lesson to the arts community.
Academic text (1995) -
That concludes our object lesson for this evening.
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And so a wonderful example of this was that was sort of an object lesson to, to, to companies.
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"Did you create that entire world to give me an object lesson about my personal life?"
Fiction book (1994) -
So begins an object lesson in leadership.
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And it is that figure who has become an object lesson in the vanity of ambition.
Academic text (2007) -
Take the game against the Saints, an object lesson in self-defeat.
Blog text (9) -
Judged by the results, TEFRA was not only a mistake, it was an object lesson in how not to reduce the deficit.
Academic text (2011) -
But my foray into digital archiving taught me a few object lessons, to which I now turn.
Academic text (2003) -
Rollwagen's experience in Washington, however, soon became an object lesson for businessmen in government.
Academic text (1993)
Synonyms
165
4.7
A person punished publicly to warn others
130
6.7
A punishment given to warn other people
People use a punishment to show others not to do the same
How Cautionary
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'lesson' (a teaching or an example, sometimes a punishment) signals that the phrase relates to something that teaches, while 'object' conveys concreteness — together suggesting a concrete example that teaches. However, the specific nuance that it often refers to a negative incident serving as a warning is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so a B1 learner would likely infer the general idea but not the exact pragmatic shade without exposure.
Etymology
The noun object lesson comes from classroom practice where a teacher used a real object to make a point. Showing a broken tool or a clear example made the idea easy to understand, so today object lesson means a striking example that 'teaches' or 'warns' others.