graveyard shift
noun
Forms graveyard shifts
- noun A work shift late at night, especially one from midnight to 8 AM on a three-shift schedule. “I had to work the graveyard shift for most of that year, and at first I hated it, but eventually I even kind of liked it, in some ways.”
- noun A group of workers who work during this time slot. “You'll have to ask the graveyard shift — the equipment was here when we left.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
By association of the spooky, cold and silent properties of both the night and graveyards.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “graveyard shift”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details