Perplexing Proverb

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/4/2011 10:49 AM, Baker, John wrote:
>         It is a factual statement that the amount of light is at its
>least point (i.e., it is darkest) just before it begins to grow lighter
>again.  Of course, this implies an understanding of "dawn" that is
>closer to "just after midnight" than to "sunrise."

But with this definition one might have two or more dawns per
night.  (Multiple local minima.)

Joel



>John Baker
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
>Of Shapiro, Fred
>Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 10:08 AM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Perplexing Proverb
>
>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
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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