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Come to the fore

Reader question:

In this headline – New young poets have come to the fore – what does "come to the fore" mean?

My comments:

New young poets have become visible. They have made their presence felt. They are perhaps coming into their own. In short, they are gaining deserved recognition. If they keep getting better, they'll perhaps become a force to be reckoned with in poetic circles.

Fore means front, as in forefront, foreground. For someone to come to the fore means for them to step up to the front. When you come to the front, say, stepping up to the podium and making a speech, you become visible as you are distinguished from the crowd. In other words, you are prominent, influential.

"Come to the fore" may have come from the game of golf. In teeing up, the golfer steps up, comes to the fore to hit the first shot. When he comes to the fore, he separates himself from the rest of the group waiting for their turn – hence the metaphorical implication of prominence.

It's not always a good thing to come to the fore, though. Everything, good or bad, may come to the fore. And when bad things come to the fore, you've got a crisis on your hand. If abortion, for example, comes to the fore in the presidential race in America, this troublesome issue may be a problem for some candidates – they can no longer avoid dealing with the issue.

You can best learn about terms like "come to the fore", their hints, shades and nuances, through context via actual examples. Here are a few culled from the media.