How will the midnight oil be burnt?
I’m jealous of this guy:
- he’s a really successful engineer.
a) Instead, I’m really proud to have such a colleague! Who says I see no wonder I am upset? He’s been a really diligent person throughout his whole academic period and now he is enjoying his life! I knew him from many years ago, and still do. My memory is that he actually burned midnight oil to get where he is in his life!
Does the bold phrase above mean to work for too long? Doesn’t sound old-fashioned to you?
I would appreciate it if you let me know a better idiom in modern language if it’s an obsolete type of implying this meaning in English.
What is synonymous with burning midnight oil?
Do oil lamps and lamps remain relics of the past?
Just for fun, search your favorite search engine for news articles with this exact phrase. What is the best phrase to use in Google News and how often does this phrase get ignored?
Why do you work late at night with oil? It means one is working hard. In the context of the scenario, it means he worked a lot, often late into the night, to get to his present position. Observation: It is meant as both a compliment, and a comment on the person’s character as a hard-working individual.
What is used to torch midnight? What alternatives are there that are used daily? In the past tense the phrase To keep one’s nose shut would work for that context: He really kept his nose shut to get where he is today. Another, more modern, and colloquial expression is to pull an all nighter, which is mostly used by high school and college students in the context of studying for exams, as in: I pulled an all nighter for that test!
A long night at the office can cause us to have problems as we wait for the last moment. (Why is this so frustrating) I think he really pulled a lot of all nighter to get to where he is, but when used, it would not be a compliment.
