This past weekend Emily asked when the fireworks would start and she was told, \u201cafter dark.\u201d That seemed to satisfy her, but I\u2019ve alway been curious about the phrase. When we say \u201cafter dark,\u201d we really mean \u201cafter light\u201d \u2014 when the daylight has faded and it\u2019s becoming night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, my extensive research, while not completely satisfying, did shed some \u201clight\u201d on the subject. The real meaning of \u201cafter dark\u201d is \u201cafter dark comes\u201d or \u201cafter darkness falls.\u201d It was never meant to mean \u201cafter dark is over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you look up dark in the dictionary, among the definitions of the noun dark<\/em> is nightfall. So \u201cafter dark\u201d could mean \u201cafter nightfall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The term has been around since at least the 1700s, and can be found in many literary works throughout the years. Gilbert & Sullivan used the term in one of their operas in 1882 \u2014 Lolanthe (The Peer and the Perl) about a fairy (Lolanthe) being banished from fairyland, in the following lyrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard the minx remark, The term has been around for a long time, and it\u2019s obviously not technically correct, but no one \u2014 even kids \u2014 have any trouble interpreting its meaning correctly. Besides, it just sounds better than \u201cafter light.\u201d This past weekend Emily asked when the fireworks would start and she was told, \u201cafter dark.\u201d That seemed to satisfy her, but I\u2019ve alway been curious about the phrase. When we say \u201cafter dark,\u201d we really mean \u201cafter light\u201d \u2014 … Continue reading
She\u2019d meet him after dark,
Inside St. James\u2019s Park,
And give him one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"