graveyard watch
Definition
Noun: - A watch or work shift that occurs during the late night hours, typically from midnight until early morning (e.g., 8 a.m.). It is often associated with duty when most people are asleep.
Usage
The term is used to describe a specific period of duty, surveillance, or work, especially in contexts like maritime operations, security, healthcare, or industrial settings. It emphasizes the unsociable and quiet hours of the night.
Examples
- The security guard was assigned the graveyard watch from midnight to 8 a.m.
- Nurses on the graveyard watch must be alert despite the late hour.
- Sailors on the graveyard watch have the quietest duty on the ship.
Advanced Usage
- "to pull/stand/have the graveyard watch": To be scheduled for or to work the late-night shift.
- He had to pull the graveyard watch three times last week.
Variants and Related Words
- Graveyard shift (n): A more common synonym referring to the same late-night work period.
- She works the graveyard shift at the factory.
- Night watch (n): A general term for a period of duty or vigilance during the night.
- Lobster trick (n): A dated, informal term for the graveyard shift in some printing and newspaper industries.
Synonyms
- Midnight shift
- Third shift (in a three-shift system)
- Night duty
Related Phrases
- The dead of night: The quietest, darkest part of the night, often associated with the time of a graveyard watch.
- The alarm sounded in the dead of night during his graveyard watch.
Noun
-
a watch during the night (as from midnight to 8 a.m.)
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