{"id":4601,"date":"2022-06-28T17:44:32","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4601"},"modified":"2022-06-28T17:44:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:44:32","slug":"crack-of-dawn-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/crack-of-dawn-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Crack of Dawn \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone you\u2019re getting up early tomorrow morning? You could say you\u2019re rising at \u201c<em>the crack of dawn<\/em>.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>If you rise every morning at the \u201c<em>crack of dawn<\/em>,\u201d you\u2019re getting up at \u201c<em>first light<\/em>.\u201d First light is the period before the dawn when the sun rays start to come over the horizon before you can see the sun itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It means to get up very early in the morning at a time when most people are asleep. If you get up at the crack of dawn, you\u2019re telling someone that you intend to get an early start to the day. The saying refers to early risers that enjoy getting up in the early hours of the morning, just before sunrise.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go fishing. Are you coming, or is that too early for you? I know you\u2019re not a morning person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe swell arrives tonight, and it\u2019s going to be six to eight feet and barreling tomorrow. We\u2019re getting up at the crack of dawn to be the first guys out at the reef.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI decided to get up at the crack of dawn this morning to watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful experience, and I think I\u2019ll do it more often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting up at the crack of dawn isn\u2019t for everyone. It means going to bed early, and that\u2019s a problem if you\u2019re a night owl.?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cByron gets up at the crack of dawn every morning and says his prayers before he heads out to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to get up at the crack of dawn every morning. Why don\u2019t you sleep in for a change?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI get up at the crack of dawn every morning to do my yoga and breathing exercises before the sun rises.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it really necessary to get up at the crack of dawn every day? Why can\u2019t you be like a normal person and get up at six for an early start?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSure, you get up at the crack of dawn, but you\u2019re in bed by 8 pm every night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4602\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Crack-of-Dawn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Crack-of-Dawn.jpg 229w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Crack-of-Dawn-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Crack-of-Dawn-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4603\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Crack-of-Dawn2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"226\" height=\"158\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u201cthe crack of dawn\u201d originates from the early rendition of the saying \u201cthe crack of day.\u201d The phrase first appears in the late 1800s, but language experts are at a loss to explain the exact origin of the saying.<\/p>\n<p>The word \u201ccrack\u201d refers to the first light of the morning before the sun peeks over the horizon. The first use of \u201ccrack\u201d to describe a split or opening comes from the 1300s. As the sun starts to reach the horizon, it \u201ccracks\u201d: the darkness of night, bringing in the new day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some language experts believe the saying comes from farmers that would rise early every morning to start their tasks before the heat of the midday sun arrives.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meaning of AT THE CRACK OF DAWN - A Really Short English Lesson with Subtitles\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R2deax1bO9g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Crack of Dawn<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Grand rising.<\/li>\n<li>Up with the sun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Crack of Dawn<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Sleep in late.<\/li>\n<li>Lazy morning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Crack of dawn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Crack of Dawn Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Using the phrase to describe rising after dawn is incorrect. The \u201ccrack\u201d of dawn means \u201cfirst light\u201d before the sunrise.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Crack of Dawn<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201ccrack of dawn\u201d when you\u2019re telling someone that you\u2019re getting up early or when describing tasks that require you to be awake first thing in the morning. When planning an event, you\u2019ll use the phrase to tell everyone you need to get an early start before sunrise.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits social and professional situations. You could say that you want the team ready for the team-building exercise at the crack of dawn. Or you could tell your friend that you like to get up at the crack of dawn each day to watch the sunrise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone you\u2019re getting up early tomorrow morning? You could say you\u2019re rising at \u201cthe crack of dawn.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning If you rise every morning at the \u201ccrack of dawn,\u201d you\u2019re getting up at \u201cfirst light.\u201d First light is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4601"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5093,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601\/revisions\/5093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}