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I met the phrase penny dropped today and learned that it is mainly used in UK.
The Cambridge Idioms Dictionary via TheFreeDictionary.com defines it as
if you say the penny drops, you mean that you have finally understood something.
Are there any similar ways that are popular in the US to express the same meaning?
A moment of sudden realization, enlightenment, or inspiration
[ODO]
That exact moment I finally understood something.
[Urban Dictionary] (for lack of better resources)
You could say that it clicked.
informal to become suddenly clear: it finally clicked when her name was mentioned.
[AHD via TFD]
Fig. [for a fact] to become apparent to someone; [for something] to be suddenly realized by someone. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.)
- Then it dawned upon me that I was actually going to have the job. On the way home, it dawned on me that I had never returned your call, so when I got home I called immediately.
(Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms)
You might call that a eureka moment:
The eureka effect (also known as the aha! moment or eureka moment) refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept.
“Finally/suddenly seeing the light” is another way to describe a “penny-dropping moment.”
(example usage of “I suddenly saw the light!” next to “The penny dropped!” from ‘Young Children Learning Through Schemas: Deepening the dialogue about learning in the home and in the nursery’ by Katey Mairs, The Pen Green Team, via ‘Google Books’)
see the light
Fig. to understand something clearly at last.
“After a lot of studying and asking many questions, I finally saw the light.”
“I know that geometry is difficult. Keep working at it. You'll see the light pretty soon.”
(from ‘McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs’ via ‘The Free Dictionary by Farlex’)
see the light
1. to understand something clearly, especially after you have been confused about it for a long time
“Sarah used to have very racist views, but I think she's finally seen the light.”
(from ‘Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed.’, also via ‘The Free Dictionary by Farlex, lower on the same page linked above)
"Fell into place"?
He was trying to figure it out, when suddenly it all fell into place. It was the Butler, who did it!
Have a moment of clarity
Or an Epiphany, also known as sudden realization/suddenly realizing (JOKE)
Definition of the idiom, get the picture:
to understand a situation.
Example:
"The team won two, then lost three, then won two, then lost two, then won three - you get the picture?"
It is referring to clarity in tuning old televisions.
A phrase similar to "seeing the light" is the fog cleared.
Grok - 'to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with'
"The light came on" Would be the closest thing I would think of.
