What does the phrase broad daylight mean?

Asked by: Prof. Mariah Carter  |  Last update: August 13, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (28 votes)

: during the day when people and things can be easily seen rather than at night. The crime was committed in broad daylight.

What does broad daylight mean in slang?

to do something illegal or bad openly in the daytime, when people can see it. This expression is often used to emphasize behaviour that is surprising or shocking. The paintings — valued at $20 million — were stolen in broad daylight by armed men, as some forty visitors looked on.

Why do they call it broad daylight?

If a crime is committed in broad daylight, it happens during the day, when it could have been seen and prevented: Thieves had broken into the house in broad daylight.

Where did the term "in broad daylight" come from?

The idiom "in broad daylight" has its origin in the literal meaning of daylight, referring to the period of time during which the sun is visible and illuminates the surroundings.

What is an example of broad daylight?

If you say that a crime is committed in broad daylight, you are expressing your surprise that it is done during the day when people can see it, rather than at night. A girl was attacked on a train in broad daylight. The robbery happened in broad daylight in a busy part of town.

Understanding the Phrase "In Broad Daylight"

29 related questions found

What do we not have the time to see in broad daylight?

No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance.

What is meant by broad?

1. having relatively great breadth or width. 2. of vast extent; spacious.

What time of the day is broad daylight?

It means that something happened in the open, where anyone could see it. I would use it to mean anytime the sun is up, but the location is more important. A busy sidewalk or other public place qualify as "in broad daylight," even if it's 5 pm and near sunset.

What is daylight slang for?

daylights, Informal. mental soundness, consciousness, or wits: I'd like to beat/knock the daylights out of him! The noise scared the daylights out of us.

What are we missing in broad daylight?

We are missing shining streams, as if they are full of stars in broad daylight.

Is it broad daylight or open daylight?

Likewise nobody says in wide daylight, the correct idiom is 'in broad daylight'. Always.

Why is it called the broad?

The Broad (/broʊd/) is a contemporary art museum on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The museum is named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, who financed the $140 million building that houses the Broad art collections.

What is in broad daylight based on?

Based on the true events in Skidmore, Missouri in 1981, the film centers around the town dealing with violent bully Len Rowan (Brian Dennehy). After a confrontation at a local grocery, Rowan begins stalking the owner Ruth Westerman (Cloris Leachman) and her husband Wes.

What is a morning skinny slang?

The expression morning skinny is used in joking contexts by body-conscious people. People use it as a modifying phrase, e.g., looking morning skinny, or as a noun, referring to the state of morning skinny. People on social media mention morning skinny in reference to how attractive they feel when they wake up.

What is the golden hour slang?

The first hour after a severe internal injury has been dubbed the "golden hour" by surgeons. Emergency room medical personnel often talk about a golden hour - if you don't get a person into treatment within the first hour or so after an injury, a lot of damage has been done.

What does I see broad daylight on the other side mean?

'I see every round as it rips through his life/ I see broad daylight on the other side' Life for the looter is instantly and brutally ended. The way the speaker sees 'broad daylight on the other side' suggests the speed with which everything happens. One minute there is a man who is alive and the next, nothing.

Why do people say broad daylight?

If you say that a crime is committed in broad daylight, you are expressing your surprise that it is done during the day when people can see it, rather than at night.

What does SNL stand for?

SNL often refers to Saturday Night Live, an American late-night live television variety show.

What does broad daylight mean slang?

idiom. : during the day when people and things can be easily seen rather than at night.

How do you use broad daylight in a sentence?

A girl was attacked on a train in broad daylight. The robbery happened in broad daylight in a busy part of town. I was robbed in broad daylight.

What are the four parts of the day?

Answer
  • Parts of the Day.
  • Morning 5 am to 12 pm (noon)
  • Afternoon 12 pm to 5 pm.
  • Evening 5 pm to 9 pm.
  • Night 9 pm to 4 am.

What is the actual length of a day?

We learn that an 'Earth Day' is 24 hours long, and that more precisely it is 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds long. But this hasn't always been the case. Detailed studies of fossil shells, and the banded deposits in certain sandstones, reveal a much different length of day in past eras!

What does savvy mean in the 1960s?

It is short for "Are you savvy?" Which means "Do you understand what I just said?" The phrase may imply understanding an implied message, not just the surface message. It is the sort of thing the "Rat Pack" from the 1950s and a part if the 1960s would say in movies to show how sophisticated they were.

What can I say instead of broad?

adjective
  • wide.
  • thick.
  • extensive.
  • expansive.
  • sweeping.
  • fat.
  • sizeable.
  • spacious.

What does promiscuous person mean?

Meaning of promiscuous in English

(of a person) having lots of different sexual partners or sexual relationships, or (of sexual habits) involving lots of different partners: I suppose I was quite promiscuous in my youth.