night owl

N

night owl

Meaning

• Someone who is vigilant late at night.
• In the current usage, night own refers to someone who works at night.

Example Sentences

1. In order to earn their bread so many people now have to turn into night owls. The customer service industry thrives on 24*7 availability of people.
2. Every time the exams started, I would become a night owl.
3. You can’t just become a night owl and hope to catch up on the years that you have missed your education.
4. He came home at 4 in the morning after the party. He is such a night owl.
5. Becoming a night owl can have an adverse effect on your health. You should be more careful about getting sleep at the right time, at least in your age.

Origin
The reference to being awake at night comes from the characteristics of the Owl. The first know literary use of the phrase was in the year 1581 in ‘Against Jerome Osorius’ by Bell and Foxe although it seems that the term ‘Owl’ was use literally. The figurative use of the phrase, the way it is used now, was not too far later. It was used in 1594 by Shakespeare in his work ‘The Rape of Lucrece’.