Monday, 4 July 2011

“graveyard shift”

This is an expression mainly used in American English. When you say that you are working the graveyard shift in a factory, what you mean is that you are working the late night shift — you usually work from midnight to eight in the morning.

*We have to cancel our plans. I am working the graveyard shift next week.

This expression became popular in the U.S. during World War II. It was a time when many factories worked 24 hours a day. The people who worked the graveyard shift worked at a time when everyone else was fast asleep; when everything in town was very quiet and as still as a graveyard!

Source: ‘Know Your English’ Series – The Hindu Daily, August 8 , 2005.


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