witching hour

American  

noun

1. midnight.

   a rendezvous at the witching hour.

---

witching hour British  

noun

1. the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight

---

witching hour Idioms  

1. Midnight, as in They arrived just at the witching hour. This term alludes to older superstitions concerning a time appropriate to witchcraft and other supernatural occurrences. Shakespeare and others wrote of “the witching time of night.” The precise phrase was first recorded in 1835.

---

Etymology

Origin of witching hour

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Dusk is the witching hour at Accra Zoo.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2023

Speaking of midnight, that seemed to be the witching hour for most of the guests, who were heading off to even more exclusive, no-press-allowed parties held by Madonna and Jay-Z.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2020

As Farage conducted a countdown to the witching hour, he ventured some wild “we happy few” Shakespearean claims about the significance of the moment in our island history.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2020

The witching hour still abides elsewhere in TV, but even so this comedy draws you into its thrall from the very first episode.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2019

Perhaps, she told herself, this was what they called the witching hour.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl