early beams

early beam

Early morning; dawn. Mom knows you were out till the early beam last night, so don't try to hide it.
See also: beam, early
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

early beam(s)

n. dawn; early morning. (Streets.) He was away every day, early black to early beam.
See also: beam, early
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Oh, what delight it was to be thus seated aloft, rumbling along the broad, sunshiny road, with the fresh morning breeze in my face, surrounded by an unknown country, all smiling - cheerfully, gloriously smiling in the yellow lustre of those early beams; with my darling child in my arms, almost as happy as myself, and my faithful friend beside me: a prison and despair behind me, receding further, further back at every clatter of the horses' feet; and liberty and hope before!
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Certainly one of the largest problems with early beams was the cost of the units.
Electron Beam Curing in Graphic Arts
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