Burnin' the midnight oil
I've heard and used the phrase many times, without knowing the precise definition, so I looked it up in an idiom dictionary. I can't say exactly why it's funny to me, but I laughed heartily when I read the definition, especially the last example.
Burning The Midnight Oil:
You are "burning the midnight oil" when you are working hard late into the night. Example: "I could see the light in your window last night. It looks like you have been burning the midnight oil." Before they had electric lamps, people used oil-burning lamps to read or work in the darkness at night. When you are working very hard until late at night you are "burning the midnight oil." "Has your son been working hard to prepare for his final exams?" Reply: "He sure has. He's been up each night burning the midnight oil."
Just finished whisking away the evidence of card playing, junk food eating, and alcohol consumption that had accumulated over the past couple days here at the ol' pad \\ I have a bottle of Ridge Sonoma Station Zinfandel and "Cold Mountain" rented on DVD (which I've never seen, but have been meaning to) \\ With a little luck, tomorrow I'll be enjoying the pleasures of cellular communication while sporting a new pair of specs \\ Tonight was Euro-night in my section at work, and those thick-accented pricks never fail to tip poorly, even given their high-value currency \\ Fucking women. Adios.
Burning The Midnight Oil:
You are "burning the midnight oil" when you are working hard late into the night. Example: "I could see the light in your window last night. It looks like you have been burning the midnight oil." Before they had electric lamps, people used oil-burning lamps to read or work in the darkness at night. When you are working very hard until late at night you are "burning the midnight oil." "Has your son been working hard to prepare for his final exams?" Reply: "He sure has. He's been up each night burning the midnight oil."
Just finished whisking away the evidence of card playing, junk food eating, and alcohol consumption that had accumulated over the past couple days here at the ol' pad \\ I have a bottle of Ridge Sonoma Station Zinfandel and "Cold Mountain" rented on DVD (which I've never seen, but have been meaning to) \\ With a little luck, tomorrow I'll be enjoying the pleasures of cellular communication while sporting a new pair of specs \\ Tonight was Euro-night in my section at work, and those thick-accented pricks never fail to tip poorly, even given their high-value currency \\ Fucking women. Adios.