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The coppery sun skimmed the horizon.

What does the sentence mean? Is it a good sentence to use in a composition?

Many thanks

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Perfectly good sentence, quite artistic, quite poetic in its way.

It perhaps describes a sunset on the plains (hence the use of "horizon") or perhaps over the sea.
The sun changes colour as it goes down, and with some dust in the air, it could be coppery in colour.
As the sun goes down, it could be said to "skim the horizon".

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Having never seen the sun exhibit what I would call a coppery color---one predominantly brown---I question whether it is an apt description.

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To skim the horizon means to move close to, and parallel to the horizon. The sun only does that at the north and south poles. Elswhere, the sun rises from the horizon at dawn, and sinks below it at sunset. (It takes on a hue often called "coppery" at these times).

McTag wrote:

As the sun goes down, it could be said to "skim the horizon".

I do not agree, for the reasons stated above.

Dr Huff wrote:

a coppery color---one predominantly brown

The adjective "coppery" covers a wide range of hues from red to brown. The phrase "The coppery sun" is so commonplace as to be in danger or acquiring cliché status, as a little research will quickly reveal.

A little research will also reveal that tanguatlay has asked this question on at least one other forum.

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contrex wrote:

Dr Huff wrote:
a coppery color---one predominantly brown

The adjective "coppery" covers a wide range of hues from red to brown.

While you may have seen the color red described as "copper," I have not.

Quote:

The phrase "The coppery sun" is so commonplace as to be in danger or acquiring cliché status, as a little research will quickly reveal.

Did a little search as you suggested, but found nothing that could be construed as describing the sun as being copper in color. There were many references to a book called the Copper Sun, and a few references linking the sun to the actual metal, and linking the sun to a copper colored sun tan, but nothing indicating a copper colored sun.

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Well for goodness sake.
You guys have evidently no intention of allowing any artistic or poetic licence in your assessments.
We're not considering an encyclopaedia entry, here.
Rolling Eyes

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Dr. Huff, if you Google "copper-colored sun" you will get about 290 hits. Nothing like the number you'd get for just copper and sun, but not nothing, either.

The links refer not only to the sun itself: "Beneath the light of a pale copper colored sun, which is above the horizon but for a few hours a day, ", but also to home decor: "The three-dimensional design of a copper-colored sun and a blue half moon gives the accent pizzazz. Wall accent will complement your southwestern. ...".

Go see for yourself.

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McTag wrote:

Well for goodness sake.
You guys have evidently no intention of allowing any artistic or poetic licence in your assessments.
We're not considering an encyclopaedia entry, here.

Consider the source, McT. Cool

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Wy wrote:

Dr. Huff, if you Google "copper-colored sun" you will get about 290 hits. Nothing like the number you'd get for just copper and sun, but not nothing, either.

The links refer not only to the sun itself: "Beneath the light of a pale copper colored sun, which is above the horizon but for a few hours a day, ", but also to home decor: "The three-dimensional design of a copper-colored sun and a blue half moon gives the accent pizzazz. Wall accent will complement your southwestern. ...".

Go see for yourself.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think I've gone into the issue about as much as I care to. My original comment wasn't all that important---more of a throw-away---and if the sun has been described as copper colored for some time, so be it. I must have missed them all. To me, the image simply rang false.

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McTag wrote:

Well for goodness sake.
You guys have evidently no intention of allowing any artistic or poetic licence in your assessments.
We're not considering an encyclopaedia entry, here.

I tend to agree, McTag.

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