Catch some rays

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Grammarist

Catch some rays is an idiom that is decades old. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom catch some rays, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences.

Catch some rays means to sunbathe, to tan in the sun, to lie in the sun with the intention of obtaining a tan. The idiom catch some rays came into use in the latter half of the 1900s; the popularity of the phrase has soared since the 1970s. Catch some rays is an American expression that most probably originated in surfer culture in California. Related phrases are catches some rays, caught some rays, catching some rays.

Examples

Jerry is a chill boy with everyone and loves to lay in the sun and catch some rays. (Fairfax Times)

Fortunately, it’s not too late to chase the sun in southern Europe and catch some rays on a sandy beach in the Algarve or the Canaries, with travel companies offering affordable family trips to short-haul destinations all over. (The Sun)

And with sunny spring days officially upon us, there is no better time to catch some rays and relish SoCal’s renowned, sunny-and-75 climate. (Locale Magazine)