Perplexing Proverb

[Shapiro, Fred]

A reader of my weekly "column" about quotations on the Freakonomics blog has asked a question that has long perplexed me.  How did the strange proverb "It's always darkest just before the dawn" arise?  We all understand the point of the proverbial metaphor, but such metaphors are usually based on an underlying commonly accepted reality.  It's just not scientifically true that it's always darkest just before the dawn.  Can anyone help me to understand this?

Fred Shapiro

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org