Perplexing Proverb

[Tom Zurinskas]

If the old lamplighter put the lights out at midnight, then early morning is darker than late evening.

Tom Zurinskas, first Ct 20 yrs, then Tn 3, NJ 33, Fl 9.
Learn the alphabet and sounds of US English at justpaste.it/ayk



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> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Perplexing Proverb
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>
> Maybe it's a matter of synesthesia: The coldest time of night is (often) just before (or at) dawn.
>
> --Charlie
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Shapiro, Fred [fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU]
> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 10:08 AM
>
> 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
>
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