Morning

Morning is the part of the day between the end of the night and noon. It begins when the Sun comes up and ends when everyone has finally stopped saying “morning” to each other, which on a Monday is about 11:58.^[1]

Morning is the only part of the day that people greet by name, mostly to check that the other person has noticed it too.

Morning people

A morning person is someone who is awake in the morning on purpose. Morning people are thought to make up about 15% of the population and 100% of people who send emails at 5:40 am. Scientists have not yet determined whether they enjoy it or are simply very good at hiding things.^[2]

Detection

Morning can be identified by dew on the grass, frost on the car, a long shadow pointing west, and a kettle that has been switched on three times by people who keep forgetting why they are in the kitchen.

• Early morning: still dark, technically morning, emotionally night.
• Mid-morning: when a biscuit becomes acceptable.
• Late morning: the morning’s last stand before lunch takes over.

The morning after

“The morning after” refers to the morning after the night before. Linguists have argued since 1977 that this is also simply “the morning”, and have been asked to keep their voices down.^[3]

See also

• Afternoon – morning, once it has had lunch
• Noon – where morning gives up
• Midnight – morning, technically, but don’t
• Monday – the worst morning of the week
• Elevenses – the morning's last snack

References

1. Dawn, D. (2003). Too Early. Rise Press. Published after lunch.
2. Lark, L. (2015). “Are They Enjoying It? A Study of Morning People”. Inconclusive.
3. Hangover, H. (1977). “The Morning After the Night Before Is the Morning”. Shushed.