trick of the light

noun phrase

: something appearing different from what actually is as a result of the quality of light

The paint looked blue, but it was just a trick of the light.

Examples of trick of the light in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But shadows are a trick of the light, a matter of perspective. — Literary Hub, 5 June 2026

Reportedly, India’s solar waste was estimated at a manageable 110,000 US tons (100,000 tonnes) in 2023, but that figure is a trick of the light. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Dec. 2025

Were these rare 'double' meteors, or just a trick of the light? — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Right now, in the deceptive gold of dawn, Stromboli is as peaceful as a pyramid on the horizon, its red-hot summit just some trick of the light. — Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 May 2025

The blood moon is a trick of the light, when the typical whitish looking moon becomes red or ruddy brown. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2025

On each side, the craggy rock faces sped back down into the valley below us, as though merely a trick of the light or of perspective. — Christian Kracht, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024

There was a time when Marilyn Monroe emerged as an illusion, a trick of the light produced between herself, her studio’s massive press apparatus, and an adoring and vampiric public. — Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 9 June 2023

Sports, in this telling, is being used as a distraction, a sleight of hand, a trick of the light. — Rory Smith, New York Times, 9 June 2023

Rhymes for trick of the light

• actinolite
• adipocyte
• amphibolite
• anorthosite
• anthophyllite
• aragonite
• carbonatite
• cassiterite
• chalcopyrite
• cristobalite
• crocidolite
• diatomite