false dawn

false dawn

A situation that looks like it is beginning to improve when, in reality, it is not. Barb thought her marriage was beginning to improve when her husband came home in a good mood, but it proved to be a false dawn when he handed her divorce papers. Everyone was happy when they heard that they were all getting a raise, but it turned out to be a false dawn when management cut all of their hours.
See also: dawn, false
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a false dawn

mainly BRITISH, JOURNALISM
COMMON If an event is a false dawn, it seems to show that something is improving or something successful is happening, but in fact it is not. The new age of enterprise which the Government hoped would revitalise Britain in the Eighties turned out to be a false dawn. Everything they have said is sensible but we have had a lot of false dawns with this company before.
See also: dawn, false
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a false dawn

a misleadingly hopeful sign.
A false dawn is literally a transient light in the sky which precedes the rising of the sun by about an hour, commonly seen in Eastern countries.
1992 Frank McLynn Hearts of Darkness After five weeks Clapperton seemed to recover; it proved merely a false dawn for two days later Clapperton died.
See also: dawn, false
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a false dawn
  • (from) soup to nuts
  • from soup to nuts
  • soup-to-nuts
  • beginning
  • at one's
  • at someone's
  • be with (one)
  • back to the drawing board
  • where on God's green earth
References in periodicals archive
| The win over Bangor was a false dawn for Prestatyn says assistant boss Martin Jones
'IT'S A MUST.WIN GAME FOR US, WE'LL FACE PRESTATYN WITH SEIGE MENTALITY'
"Knowing the difference between this false dawn and the real dawn is important for the timing of prayers in the Islamic world," National Geographic News quoted Geza Gyuk, an astronomer with the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, as saying.
Get ready to see the elusive 'False Dawn' of zodiacal light next week
NICK Easter is convinced England's victory over Wales is the start of a bright future and not just another false dawn.
Easter: England the real deal again
We saw a false dawn at the beginning of the year when recovery in the financial markets were wiped out by a second wave of crises such as at RBS and Lloyds.
Hammonds' recovery hope
Spurs won seven and drew the other of their eight summer friendlies, scoring 33 goals, but it proved to be a false dawn as they then suffered their worst start to a season for 34 years, and go into today's clash with Wigan seeking their first League win.
Bentley wants to turn ugly; in association with SAMSUNG BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE ON SIZZLING SUNDAY IN PREMIER LEAGUE TOTTENHAM v WIGAN
It might have been different if Lee Jarman's ninth-minute header had escaped the grasp of the guiding Matt Lovett in the home goal, but that proved a false dawn for County.
Football: County slump to loss
That victory over St Johnstone nine years ago in Harri Kampman's first match in charge proved to be a false dawn but even at this early stage Mark McGhee's debut success over the Paisley Saints provided a lot of reasons for optimism among the travelling Well fans.
Letter: FANZINE - CHRiS HUTTON MOTHERWELL; pounds 25
The "old" EU member states having pledged in 2005 to gradually raise ODA to 0.7% of gross domestic product by 2015, NGOs want to make certain that these figures do not represent a false dawn for developing countries.
DEVELOPMENT : MEMBER STATES ACCUSED OF EXAGGERATING AID
* The first winner of our Think Tank section is Andrew Conden, of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP), for his response to the question, "Is Asia's recovery genuine -- or just a false dawn?" He wrote:
False dawn over the horizon
False Dawn both queries the phenomenon's supposed homogeneous logic and is a passionate denunciation of its driving force: strident US-style free market economics.
False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism
In the first, False Dawn, the young New Yorker Lewis Raycie makes a grand tour of Europe, buying pictures so far in advance of the taste of his time that his father disinherits him.
Old New York (4 v. 1924)
RORY BEST believes Ulster are in a great position to qualify for the knockout stages of Europe for the first time in four years but warns Saturday's win cannot afford to be "another false dawn".
WE'RE IN BEST PLACE
A BETTER-than-expected performance by manufacturers has shone a ray of hope on the UK economy but economists warned it may be a false dawn.
Caution urged on manufacturing rise; business Business briefing
"We are just glad now that we have a yardstick and I don'think it will be another false dawn.
England are the real deal - Easter
Stephen Robertson, the director general of the British Retail Consortium, predicted no growth in consumer spending over 2010 and indicated the recent glut of positive updates from the festive season may represent a false dawn.
'Tough year ahead'