shadow of one's former self

plural shadows of one's former selves

1. idiomaticA person or a thing whose impression got declined drastically.

   He is but a pale shadow of his former self.

   4 more examples

   Today, Shamian Island is a shadow of its former self. For the 85 years leading up to the first Opium War between China and Britain in 1841, it was the centre of the universe for foreigners doing business in China, being the only port open to foreign trade.

   2004 August 25, Michael Taylor, “Past waits patiently for a blast”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2024

   The woman who used to start the day with a Spin class with Suzanne turned into a mombie—a mom zombie who was a shadow of her former self. Showering was no longer important. Why bother?

   2016, Suzanne Riss, Jill Sockwell, The Optimist's Guide to Divorce: How to Get Through Your Breakup

   But what unites many of these rural railways is that they are shadows of their former selves.

   2024 August 21, Richard Foster, “Cultivating the growth in leisure travel”, in RAIL, number 1016, page 37

   Sanctions have crippled the Iranian economy, reducing a top oil exporter to a poor and struggling shadow of its former self.

   2025 June 26, Kasra Naji, “When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation”, in BBC