dusky dark
A Southern US and Appalachian dialect expression for dusk — the period just after sunset when the sky dims but full dark hasn't arrived yet.
Definitions
A Southern US and Appalachian dialect expression for dusk — the period just after sunset when the sky dims but full dark hasn't arrived yet. The term is particularly associated with Gullah communities of the coastal Southeast. It has a poetic, doubling quality, pairing two near-synonyms to evoke the gradual fading of daylight. While rarely used today outside heritage or literary contexts, it captures an atmospheric moment with vivid economy.
Grandma always told us to be home by dusky dark, before the fireflies came out.
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(slang, Southern US, Appalachian, Gullah) dusk.
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- black dark74%
(slang, Southern US, Appalachian) nighttime.
- black dark73%
An Appalachian and Southern US expression for nighttime — specifically for pitch darkness, when it is completely dark outside. The double darkness intensifier ('black' + 'dark') is characteristic of Appalachian English's tendency toward expressive doubling. Used in rural speech to mean the dead of night or total darkness.
- dimpsey68%
The time in the evening just before dusk.
- duskus67%
(Ireland) The time of the evening just before it is fully dark; dusk.