false dawn

false dawn
a) A thin ambient light which precedes true dawn, typically by around an hour, in certain parts of the world.

The moon was low down, and there was just the glimmer of the false dawn that comes about an hour before the real one.

b) Something engendering premature hope; a promising sign which in fact leads to nothing.

As Congo nears the 50th anniversary of its independence from Belgium on June 30th, Mr Chebeya’s murky death suggests that 2006 was a false dawn.


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  • false dawn — UK US noun [C] ► a time in which something such as the economy seems to be getting better but in fact it is not: »In Japan, the concern is that the latest pick up in activity will be another false dawn and that the economy will suffer a relapse …   Financial and business terms

  • false dawn — n formal a situation in which something good seems likely to happen, but it does not ▪ The ceasefire turned out to be another false dawn …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • False dawn — can refer to:* Zodiacal light: a faint, roughly triangular glow seen in the night sky. * : A 1998 book by political philosopher John Gray which argues that free market Globalization is unstable and is in the process of collapsing. * A short story …   Wikipedia

  • false dawn — noun count a situation in which you think that something good will happen, but it does not …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • false dawn — noun : a faint light on the eastern horizon sometime before dawn; often : zodiacal light * * * zodiacal light occurring before sunrise. [1825 35] * * * false dawn noun A deceptive appearance simulating dawn (also figurative) • • • Main Entry:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • false dawn — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms false dawn : singular false dawn plural false dawns a situation in which you think that something good will happen, but it does not …   English dictionary

  • false dawn — noun (C) a situation in which something good seems likely to happen, but it does not: The ceasefire turned out to be another false dawn …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • False Dawn (Kipling story) — False Dawn is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills in 1888, and in subsequent editions of that collection. The story is set on an unnamed station , or one of the posts… …   Wikipedia

  • false dawn — /fɔls ˈdɔn/ (say fawls dawn) noun 1. zodiacal light appearing before sunrise. 2. a sign of promise, ultimately not realised …  

  • false dawn — zodiacal light occurring before sunrise. [1825 35] * * * …   Universalium

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