The phrase "a shadow of itself" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that has diminished in quality, significance, or presence compared to its former state.
Example: "After the scandal, the company became a shadow of itself, struggling to regain its former reputation."
Alternatives: "a mere echo of itself" or "a shell of its former self."
It is a shadow of itself.
The N.F.L. is only a shadow of itself.
And I pray to God that he will permit us to turn the United States into a shadow of itself".
A shadow of itself now — "sooty, grim, and used-up," Wolff writes, and quotes a 1984 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that quipped, "Even the parking meters look cold and penniless" — Pottsville still teemed during O'Hara's youth.
The lineup however, one which boasted five regulars with OPS's over.800, not counting the departed trade-deadline acquisition Ben Zobrist who finished with a.919 OPS, is a shadow of itself.
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina's capital may be about to lose what is arguably its most iconic sight: A new project by the city government led by Mayor Mauricio Macri is turning the 9 de Julio Avenue into a shadow of itself in the name of an ill-conceived public transportation project.
While perfect for casting a shadow of Rosetta itself on to the surface, it does mean that the terrain looks somewhat flatter in the new image than it really is.
The guy is a shadow of himself!
With the Sun directly behind Rosetta, it is even possible to see a shadow of the satellite itself on the surface.
It now exists as a mere shadow of itself: an annoying ubiquitous combination of transparently awful guests, Dave Lamb yipping and yelping like a stunned seal and the inescapable sensation that the whole thing is just spinning its wheels until Channel 4 can find a suitable replacement.
"Fitzgerald House, Albin, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi," a once-fancy abandoned dwelling, is a mere shadow of itself amid its surrounding trees and overgrowth.
