Friday, February 01, 2013

cliché: at the end of the day

Meaning: the bottom line, in the final analysis (definition).

Example: 1+1 will always equal 2, at the end of the day. (Examples.)

Origins: Seems to have been first used in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) but first recorded uses in print were from the 1950s onward (source). Saw a rapid rise in usage from 1985 onward (source).


Rewrites:
  • as day closes
  • as the final seconds tick away
  • faced to choose at the midnight hour
  • when debate time ends
  • lacking extended time for flags and penalties
  • at end of official play
  • as you time out


Discussion: You might think of ways to recast this idiom other than the time metaphor, but for this rewrite I have maintained that theme.

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