Perplexing Proverb

[Ben Zimmer]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:08 AM, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>
> 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?

Perhaps we could classify this as a "frog-boiling proverb," since it
resembles the equally untrue cliche that a frog will allow itself to
be boiled if placed in a pot of gradually heated water.

Language Log discussion here:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1764

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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