midnight
Related to midnight: Midnight Oil
burn the midnight oil
To stay up late working on a project or task. The phrase refers to the outdated practice of using an oil lamp. Denise has been burning the midnight oil trying to finish this report, so she must be exhausted. I'll need to burn the midnight oil to have any chance of finishing this paper before class tomorrow morning.
See also: burn, midnight, oil
on the stroke of (some specific time)
Exactly at a specific time, especially the very beginning of the hour. The store is opening its doors on the stroke of midnight for the Black Friday sale. If you're not home on the stroke of 11, you're grounded!
See also: of, on, specific, stroke
one hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after
Sleep before midnight is more rejuvenating than sleep after midnight. The phrase encourages going to sleep at an early hour. No matter how often I tell my son that one hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after, he still stays up too late playing video games. I've really noticed a difference in the quality of my sleep since I started going to bed earlier. It must be true that one hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after!
See also: after, before, midnight, one, sleep, two, worth
one minute to midnight
(At) the final moment before something happens or occurs. Tensions had been rising, with many assuming war was imminent, until a treaty was struck at one minute to midnight. Analysts are predicting that it is now one minute to midnight before another economic disaster.
See also: midnight, minute, one
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
burn the midnight oil
Fig. to stay up working, especially studying, late at night. (Alludes to working by the light of an oil lamp late in the night.) I have a big exam tomorrow so I'll be burning the midnight oil tonight. If you burn the midnight oil night after night, you'll probably become ill.
See also: burn, midnight, oil
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
burn the midnight oil
Stay up late working or studying, as in The semester is almost over and we're all burning the midnight oil before exams. This expression alludes to the oil in oil lamps. [Early 1600s]
See also: burn, midnight, oil
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
burn the midnight oil
If you burn the midnight oil, you stay up very late at night in order to finish a piece of work. He's been burning the midnight oil getting his article written. The truth is, I haven't been sleeping all that much lately. Burning the midnight oil. Note: The image here is of someone working late into the night by the light of an oil lamp.
See also: burn, midnight, oil
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
burn the midnight oil
read or work late into the night.See also: burn, midnight, oil
one minute to midnight
the last moment or opportunity. informal 1998 New Scientist It's one minute to midnight for the discredited WHO.
See also: midnight, minute, one
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
burn the midnight ˈoil
work or study until very late at night: Before my exams, I was burning the midnight oil every night.See also: burn, midnight, oil
on/at the ˌstroke of ˈeight, ˈmidnight, etc.
at exactly eight o’clock, midnight, etc: She gets to work at the stroke of nine every day.See also: of, on, stroke
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
burn the midnight oil
To work or study very late at night.
See also: burn, midnight, oil
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
burn the midnight oil, to
To stay up late, studying or working. This expression, which may well be as old as the first oil lamp, appeared in English in the mid-seventeenth century. It has been traced to a poem by Francis Quarles (“Emblems,” 1635): “Wee spend our midday sweat, or midnight oyle; wee tyre the night in thought; the day in toyle.” A more recent example is found in David Baldacci’s Hour Game (2004): “You don’t want to burn the midnight oil too much; it’s bad for your complexion.”
See also: burn, midnight
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- burn the midnight oil
- burn the midnight oil, to
- for (the) want of (something)
- for want of something
- lease (something) to (someone or something)
- lease to
- oil up
- oil field trash
- oil trash
- strike oil