unsung hero
10
4.2
- noun
- /ˈʌnˌsʌŋ ˈhɪəroʊ/
:
héroe anónimo
- The unsung hero in this amazing case is our own local police chief, Ed Wainwright.
And Marjorie is probably, like I say, probably one of two unsung heroes of that film.
- And Marjorie is probably, like I say, probably one of two unsung heroes of that film.
- I've often thought that motherboard chipsets are the unsung heroes of modern computing.
- Wherever you get your podcast, I'll tell you who the unsung heroes of COVID are, of course, the frontline workers.
- And I thought of those women could withstand all of that and be unsung heroes.
- Why would you rather have people in all walks of life, people who give charity workers, you know, these, these people who go are, are unsung heroes.
- But nurses are fucking the unsung heroes of the world.
Examples
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These guys are the unsung heroes of Liverpool football team and it's their job to make the team as lucky as possible.
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And Jefferson was an entirely necessary and unsung hero.
Blog text (17) -
Ray is, as Lady explains, the "unsung hero of metal rock fashion."
Blog text (7) -
But these men are the real unsung heroes of a hotel, the men who have no real direction.
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So often it's the unsung heroes that make the difference in how the world turns.
Blog text (20) -
We know that support staff often the unsung heroes of the lockdown, and without them none of the schools would be able to remain open.
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Bleszinski: This was basically an entire team of unsung heroes.
Blog text (31) -
To Sangerman, lawyers for senior citizens are among the unsung heroes of the bar.
Academic text (2002) -
The article, "Suburbs of a Certain Age: The Post-Racial Frontier," is excellent, and I do think that these school and city staff are the unsung heroes of helping communities change, grow, and succeed.
Blog text (31) -
Many firefighters are often regarded as unsung heroes for their bravery during emergencies.
Synonyms
4
4.8
A very good person, place, or thing that few people know about
How Recognized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from the adjective 'unsung' (not praised or acknowledged) modifying 'hero' (a person admired for brave or noble acts), so a learner who knows both words can infer a 'hero whose contributions are not publicly recognized.' This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition found cross-linguistically, making it readily comprehensible to B1 learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Unsung hero: The phrase unsung hero comes from the image of a hero who was unsung, in other words 'not sung about'. Long ago people sang songs to praise brave people, so someone unsung did important work but was 'not praised in public', which is why today it means 'a person whose good deeds are not recognized in public'.