thief in the night
- idiom
- Informal
:
ladrón en la noche
- The storm arrived like a thief in the night, disrupting our plans without any warning.
Examples
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Collapse could come along like a thief in the night, and the next day you'd wake up with chaos.
Blog text (4) -
That's why the Lord is coming "as a thief in the night."
Blog text (4) -
I’ve made a pact with myself that I have to trust that I know I will leave like a thief in the night (or Katie Holmes) if things ever get too much before I commit, especially before marriage.
Blog text (4) -
Her sudden departure felt like a thief in the night, leaving everyone in disbelief.
-
The unexpected news came as a thief in the night, catching us all off guard.
Antonyms
How Secretive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase relies on the literal senses of 'thief' (someone who acts stealthily) and 'night' (a time of darkness) to evoke sudden, secretive action; a learner who knows those words can plausibly infer that something happens unexpectedly and covertly. This simile-like usage follows an obvious image that exists in many languages, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the constituents for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Thief in the night comes from the clear image of a thief moving quietly in the night, taking things without being seen. That's why we use it for events that happen 'suddenly' and 'without warning'.