Antedatings in the Yale Book of Quotations -- 18: Light at the End of the Tunnel

[Jonathan Lighter]

The translation of the French officer's statement (which has also been attributed - perh. mistakenly - to Navarre himself) represents the effective "first use" of the phrase in regard to war in Indochina.

  The final defeat of Gen. Navarre's forces at Dien Bien Phu occurred about seven months after the appearance of the _Time_ story.

  JL

Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Fred Shapiro
Subject: Antedatings in the Yale Book of Quotations -- 18: Light at the
End of the Tunnel
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The citations below enhance the information in The Yale Book of
Quotations.


light at the end of the tunnel (OED 1971)

1902 _Wash. Post_ 6 Apr. 34 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) The "Life of
Gladstone," which has absorbed nearly all of John Murray's energies of
late years. is now at last nearly completed. As Mr. Morley expresses it,
he sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

1921 _N.Y. Times_ 15 July 1 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) "And,"
continued Mr. Lloyd George, "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
... There is a spirit of conciliation. I can see it in the industrial
world. Some of our greatest industrial troubles have been adjusted in the
last few weeks, troubles that menaced the industrial life of the country
and its trade and its commerce.

1934 _Times_ (London) 10 Aug. 7 (Times Digital Archive) When last he
[Lloyd George] presided over an Eisteddfod at Neath, in the last year of
the War, he told them that he could see the light at the end of the
tunnel.

1953 _Time_ 28 Sept. (Time online archive) Henri Navarre himself is
confident of ultimate victory, and he has communicated this to many of
those who are counting on him. Said one of them last week: "A year ago
none of us could see victory. There wasn't a prayer. Now we can see it
clearly -- like light at the end of a tunnel."

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
Access and Lecturer in Legal Research Yale University Press
Yale Law School ISBN 0300107986
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu http://quotationdictionary.com
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