burning midnight oil
Working after dark
Burning the midnight oil means working or studying late into the night, when most people are asleep.
The phrase evokes a time before electric light, when lamps required oil to burn.
It suggests diligent, often solitary effort: She's been burning the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
The phrase implies dedication rather than mere sleeplessness.
- lateNot on time
- all nighterSleepless work stretch
- studyingDeliberate learning effort
- study sessionScheduled time for learning
- crammingIntensive last-minute study
term paper · deadline · last minute · coffee · coffee break · lamp · exhaustion · work · candle · sleepless · hustle · grind · fatigue · essays · final exams · exams · desk · overtime
- sleepsleep, sleeping, nap, doze, slumber
- burnoutburn out, emotional exhaustion, exhaustion, exhausted, overwork
- Work JargonASAP, FYI, EOD, synergy, deliverable
- persistingpersisting, persevering, persistence, perseverance, continuing
burning midnight oilcoasting
Moving without active effort
slacking off · taking it easy · phoning it in · resting on one's laurels · kicking back
burning midnight oilhitting the hay
Going to bed
resting · early to bed · tucked in · sawing logs · dead to the world
burned, burnt, burning, burner, burnout, midnight, night, nights, nightly