before nightfall
8
1.0
- idiom
:
antes del anochecer
- We have to get back to the treehouse before nightfall to avoid being caught in the dark.
- just before nightfall
- hour before nightfall
- go before nightfall
She's a doctor about an hour before nightfall.
- She's a doctor about an hour before nightfall.
Examples
-
Sure hope they found a cave or something before nightfall.
Fiction book (1991) -
We have to get back to the treehouse before nightfall.
-
We're not gonna make it to that plane before nightfall.
-
It's impossible to cover that distance before nightfall.
-
I will bring them back before nightfall.
-
I must get back to Henry before nightfall.
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We must be away before nightfall.
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I'll be back before nightfall.
-
There would be a storm before nightfall.
Fiction book (1992) -
You must reach one of these hot spots each evening before nightfall.
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly composed from 'before' (prior to) and 'nightfall' (the time when darkness falls), so 'before nightfall' clearly means 'prior to it becoming dark.' This temporal preposition + noun pattern is common across languages and follows standard English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Before nightfall comes from the simple image of finishing work while there is still light. People would finish tasks before nightfall, which is the time when the sky gets dark, so the phrase means 'before it becomes dark'.