返り咲き

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 返り咲き, read かえりざき, combines returning 返り with blooming 咲き as a word for flowering again.
• Basic usage: 花が返り咲く means blooming again out of season, while 主役への返り咲き means returning to a former position.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Distinguishing meanings
  • The figurative use presupposes regaining a position or prominence once held, not achieving it for the first time.