live in the shadow of

present singular third person lives in the shadow of · participle present living in the shadow of · participle past lived in the shadow of · past lived in the shadow of · alternative live in someone's shadow

1. idiomaticTo be overshadowed one's entire life, especially by a relative or predecessor.

   Many historical personalities have lived in the shadow of great men; Harry Truman in the shadow of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Lowery in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Hank Aaron in the shadow of Babe Ruth.

   1995, Robert Smith, In the Shadow of C. L. Franklin

   1 more example

   Paul Fisher lives in the shadow of his older brother, Erik. Legally blind, Paul still manages to play soccer while Erik steals the family's attention as a star football kicker. Slowly the truth about Paul's blindness comes out in[…]

   2004, Christie Jo Bott, The Bully in the Book and in the Classroom, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 162

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see live, in, the, shadow, of.