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Glite Dictionary
to sun set on

to sun set on

1 6.8
To show that a time or relationship has ended
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : marcar el final de
  • So when the sun set on this center, the work was over.

Examples

  • The project concluded successfully when the sun set on our efforts.

  • One evening, we watched the sun set on the pastel strata surrounding this valley from atop a plateau.

    Academic text (2001)

  • But before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death, a sleep from which she will never awaken.

    Maleficent (2014)

  • Their partnership was officially over as the sun set on their relationship.

  • The team's success was celebrated as the sun set on the final day of the competition.

Surface Forms

sun set on infinitive
sunned set on past
sunned set on past participle
sunning set on present participle
suns set on third person singular

Morphology

Sun + set + on

The phrase builds on the literal image of the sun 'setting' (an ending) applied to something else, so knowing 'sun', 'set' and 'on' conveys a clear metaphor of an ending. However, mapping that concrete image to the abstract sense 'mark the end of a period or relationship' is a figurative extension and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, making it partially but not fully transparent.

Etymology

Sun set on comes from the simple picture of the sun going down at the end of the day. That's why when we say the sun set on a company, dynasty, or relationship, we mean it has 'ended' or is finished.