Language desk
< December 17	<< Nov \| December \| Jan >>	December 19 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

December 18[edit]

What does 11th hour title change mean?[edit]

Sentence from here: After clashing with Jim Crockett and booker Dusty Rhodes about their pay, Blanchard and Arn Anderson left the NWA for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 10, 1988, losing in an 11th-hour title change to the Midnight Express tandem of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane after a brief feud. Rizosome (talk) 02:28, 18 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Generally, "11th-hour" denotes "just before the deadline" or "the latest possible time before it is too late"; in this case the writer was probably trying to be clever, referencing "Midnight Express". 2603:6081:1C00:1187:E8BC:C526:694D:6748 (talk) 02:44, 18 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That term "11th hour" goes back a long ways.[1] --<-Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots-> 06:00, 18 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Also on Wiktionary at eleventh hour#Etymology. --Lambiam 06:04, 18 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Probably many people today hearing "eleventh hour" would assume one hour or less to midnight, but the Bible reference is based on an old practice of dividing the time between sunrise and sunset into 12 hours, and the time between sunset and sunrise into 12 hours (so the daytime hours were different in length from the night time hours, except at certain parts of the year near the equinoxes). In that system, the eleventh hour meant the beginning of the last daylight hour suitable for outside work... AnonMoos (talk) 08:45, 18 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It works, either way. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:02, 19 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I got clear idea from this line: Probably many people today hearing "eleventh hour" would assume one hour or less to midnight. Rizosome (talk) 01:00, 19 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

Yes, but be aware that when you see or hear mention of "the eleventh hour" in English, it is nearly always used metaphorically for "at the last minute before a deadline" (as was stated above); usually whatever thing it is being described as happening then is something that came unexpectedly without any warning, e.g., "Well we thought that transaction was a done deal, but then the mother-in-law stepped in at the eleventh hour and put her foot down..." Almost never will you ever see or hear that phrase to literally mean "the hour before midnight" (or noon). The cessation of combat in WWI is a notable exception: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. 2600:1702:4960:1DE0:E915:C0E7:63E2:3E2C (talk) 03:43, 20 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I first saw the phrase in a Playboy feature, "The Eleventh Hour Santa" (what to buy if you need to come down the chimney shortly), where it fits either way. —Tamfang (talk) 01:34, 21 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Its use by British English speakers is related to the end of World War 1 (in Europe), when the Armistice (and consequently the ceasefire at the Front) officially took effect at 11am on 11th November 1918 – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. This is still commmemorated in Armistice Day celebrations in the UK, and probably elsewhere in the Commonwealth. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.131.122 (talk) 17:51, 22 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

As was noted by 2600:1702 above. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.31.251.35 (talk) 20:27, 22 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]