light of someone's eye
- idiom
- Informal
:
la luz de mis ojos
- Her grandson is truly the light of her eye and always brings her joy.
Examples
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Julia is the light of her parents' eye, loved and treasured by them both.
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My daughter is the light of my eye.
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Since they adopted their dog, he's become the light of their eye.
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She is truly the light of my eye!
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Her grandson is truly the light of her eye and always brings her joy.
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Julia is the light of her parents' eye, loved and treasured by them both.
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Since they adopted their dog, he's become the light of their eye.
Synonyms
1
4.4
A person or thing that someone loves and cares for more than others
Antonyms
How Beloved
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression relies on a metaphor linking 'light' and 'eye' (someone who brightens or centers your attention), so a learner who knows the words could partly infer a positive, important relation. However, the precise sense 'the person most cherished' is idiomatic and not strictly compositional, so a B1 learner might not arrive at the full, culturally conventional meaning without exposure.
Etymology
Light of someone's eye comes from an old image of the eye as a small, bright part that you protect; the light in the eye was thought to be very precious. So, if someone is the light of your eye, they are the person you love and care for above all others, 'most beloved'.