crack of dawn
19
3.2
- noun
- /kræk əv dɔn/
- Informal
:
al amanecer
- That crowd's been waiting out there since the crack of dawn.
They made, you know, daring crack of dawn runs to Starbucks, you know, and and that's what it was all about.
- They made, you know, daring crack of dawn runs to Starbucks, you know, and and that's what it was all about.
- Booked a flight flew out there at the ass crack of dawn cruised over there took our our suit Ken with us got an Uber cruised over absolutely dying.
- Anyway, Grace has to be up at the crack of dawn's arse and I can't be asked for it.
Examples
-
" Where are you off to at the crack of dawn?"
Fiction book (1996) -
Cypress Woods was buzzing with activity from the crack of dawn.
Fiction book (1995) -
- Who else would call me at the crack of dawn?
-
"And he said for you to show up at the crack of dawn or he was leaving without you."
Fiction book (2001) -
"We have to be at the airport at the crack of dawn."
Fiction book (1990) -
We're getting up at the crack of dawn to go fishing.
-
So Ruth and I started to meet at the office at the crack of dawn.
-
I'd have been lined up at the dig from the crack of dawn on Saturday, man.
Blog text (28) -
The final cleanup was done at the crack of dawn on a Monday morning with a small team.
Blog text (3) -
We gotta be up at the crack of dawn to go to the airport tomorrow.
Synonyms
386
1.0
The first light in the sky before the sun rises
220
1.0
The time in the morning when the sun comes up and day begins
34
1.7
The time in the morning when the sky starts to get bright
29
1.0
The time in the early morning when light first appears in the sky
14
3.7
The time when the first light appears in the morning
13
1.0
The time in the morning when the sun first appears above the horizon
4
1.0
The first light of morning when the sun rises
1
1.4
The early part of the morning when people begin daily activities
1
9.1
The time very early in the morning when light first appears
1
1.9
The first light of morning when the sun begins to appear
1
9.9
First light in the morning when the sky begins to get bright
Very early morning when the first light comes
Antonyms
How Early
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'crack' (an opening or split) with 'dawn' (the beginning of daylight) to evoke the image of the day 'opening' — so its meaning 'very early in the morning' is directly derivable from the constituents. This metaphorical image is transparent and likely accessible to an average B1 learner who knows both words, despite being a conventionalized idiom.
Etymology
The expression crack of dawn comes from the image of the day 'breaking' open: people pictured the first thin light as a small crack in the dark at dawn. That's why it means 'very early in the morning'.