all cats are gray after dark
In the dark of night, appearances do not matter (because it is too difficult to see anything clearly). A: "I can't believe you're going on a date with someone you've never met before! What if you don't think he's attractive?" B: "Eh, all cats are gray after dark—it will be fine." You really need to give the house a fresh paint job. I know that all cats are gray after dark, but prospective buyers will be looking at this house during the day! A: "Do you really think he's going to bring some random girl home from the bar?" B: "Well, he's drunk, he's lonely, and all cats are gray after dark, so I'm thinking yes."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
all cats are gray after dark/at night
Without sufficient knowledge one cannot distinguish between alternatives. This assertion appeared in numerous proverb collections, beginning with John Heywood’s of 1546, where it was put, “When all candels be out, all cats be grey.” A still older version, dating back some 2,000 years and stated by the Roman writers Ovid and Plutarch as well as by later writers, had it that all women are the same in the dark, a view now disputed by all but the most hardened misogynists.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer