the.com/midnight oil
the fuel of deadlines, burned by everyone who swore they'd start earlier.
means The figurative fuel consumed when you work or study late into the night, usually said as 'burning the midnight oil.'
from Back when light came from oil lamps and candles, working after dark literally meant burning oil you'd otherwise save — so toiling past bedtime consumed your 'midnight oil.' The phrase took root in the 17th century; an English writer named Francis Quarles spoke of 'burnt mine oil' in the context of late labor, and the image stuck long after electric bulbs made the actual oil unnecessary. The metaphor outlived its hardware.
- literal origin
- lamps once ran on actual oil after dark
- phrase age
- used in English since the 1600s
- hidden cost
- burning it wrecks sleep and judgment
- band name
- Australian rockers borrowed it in 1972
burning the midnight oil — idiomatic phrase meaning to work late into the night, dating back to when candles were the main light source