wee hours of the ....

[Michael McKernan]

John Baker wrote:

>        I'd say that the standard phrase is just "wee hours," which gets
>3,740,000 hits.  So it could plausibly be combined with either "of the
>night" or "of the morning."

I believe the original phrase comes from Robert Burns in Scotland around
1790s:  ''wee sma' hours...''

This phrase was often used in the USA in connection with social dance
events which continued past midnight in the 19th century.

Michael McKernan
Benson, Arizona

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