In this mini episode, you will learn the idiom “in a new light.”
Episode 431 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the idiom “in a new light.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi, everyone. This is Rose, from China. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 431 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting idiom. The idiom is “in a new light.” In a new light.
That’s in, a, new, n-e-w, light, l-i-g-h-t. In a new light.
When we use this phrase, we usually use it as part of a larger phrase: To see someone or something in a new light. To see something or someone in a new light.
What does that mean? What does it mean to see someone or something in a new light? To see something or someone in a new light means “to see it in a new way, or to understand it in a new way, or to understand it better, or to know more about it.” Usually we use this expression when we have had some new experience of something that we thought we already knew well, and this new experience has shown us something new about a person or a thing or a situation.
Let me give you an example of a situation where we might use the phrase “in a new light.”
Let’s say that you have this one teacher who you really do not like. You think this teacher is very rude and too strict and just not a good teacher and not friendly and just not fun to be around. This teacher makes you uncomfortable, and you have a very negative opinion of this teacher.
And then one day, one of your classmates tells you something interesting. Your classmate tells you that that same teacher has been giving her a lot of extra help in class. This teacher, who you thought was very strict and unfriendly, has actually been very friendly to this other student. This teacher has been giving a lot of extra help and encouragement and has really been a wonderful teacher for this other classmate.
You could say, “That conversation really made me see my teacher in a new light.” That conversation made me see my teacher in a new light. I saw my teacher in a new light. And that means that this conversation with my friend showed me something new about the teacher. It gave me a new understanding of the teacher. I know more about the teacher than I did before. So you could say, “After that conversation with my classmate, I saw that teacher in a new light.”
And that is “in a new light,” an interesting and useful idiom that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 431 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have any questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Rose recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!