dawn (redirected from dawned)

at the crack of dawn and at the break of dawn

Fig. at the earliest light of the day. Jane was always awake at the crack of dawn. The birds start singing at the break of dawn.

See also: crack

darkest hour is just before the dawn and It's always darkest just before the dawn.

Prov. When things are extremely bad, it may signal that they are about to get much better. Jill: I feel like giving up. I don't have a job, my boyfriend left me, and they're raising the rent for my apartment. Jane: It's always darkest just before the dawn.

See also: before, dark, hour, just

dawn (up)on someone

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.

from dawn to dusk

Fig. during the period of the day when there is light; from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun. I have to work from dawn to dusk on the farm. The factory runs from dawn to dusk to produce hats and gloves.

It's always darkest just before the dawn.

See The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

See also: always, before, dark, just

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a false dawn

something which seems to show that a successful period is beginning or that a situation is improving when it is not

Usage notes: False dawn is the light which appears in the sky just before the sun rises in the morning.

His victory in the French Open proved to be a false dawn after he failed to win another title for the next five years.

See also: false

at the crack of dawn

very early in the morning We had an early flight so we were up at the crack of dawn.

See also: crack

light dawns

if light dawns on you, you suddenly understand something He was lying to me, but it was months before the light dawned. (often + on ) Light dawned on me when I heard she knew my mother.

See also: light

The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

something that you say which means a bad situation often seems worse just before it improves There's still a chance she might recover. The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

See also: before, dark, hour, just

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at the crack of dawn

very early in the morning We had an eight o'clock flight so we were up at the crack of dawn.

See also: crack

dawn on you

to suddenly understand something It finally dawned on him that she'd been joking and he was worried for no reason.