bright and early

In the early morning. ("Bright" likely references the rising sun.) I had to wake up bright and early to make sure I was at the airport in time for my 7 AM flight. I was supposed to meet my sister bright and early at the gym, but I was so exhausted when my alarm went off that I just went back to sleep. A: "See you bright and early tomorrow for our Calc test." B: "Ugh, see you then."

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bright and early

very early in the morning or the workday. Yes, I'll be there bright and early. I want to see you here on time tomorrow, bright and early, or you're fired!

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bright and early

Early in the morning, at dawn, as in It's a long trip, so we'll have to start out bright and early. The bright here presumably alludes to the brilliance of the dawning sun, which has long been noted by poets. [Early 1800s]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bright and early

COMMON Bright and early means early in the morning. I've got to be up bright and early in the morning to drive to Leeds.

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Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

bright and early

very early in the morning.

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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

bright and ˈearly

early in the morning: You’re up bright and early this morning!

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bright and early

First thing in the morning. Edward Young (1683–1765), in his long poem “Night Thoughts,” wrote, “Early, bright, transient, chaste as morning dew she sparkled.” The precise expression, however, seems to come from nineteenth-century America, where it appears in writings of Washington Irving and others.

See also: and, bright, early

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