Burn the midnight oil

Origin: The idiom "Burn the midnight oil" originated before the advent of electric lighting when people had to rely on oil lamps or candles to work or study late into the night. The phrase symbolizes staying up late, often past midnight, to work on tasks that require extra effort or focus. It became popular in the 17th century and has since been used to describe dedication, hard work, and the sacrifice of sleep to accomplish goals or meet deadlines.

Examples

• The team had to burn the midnight oil to meet the project's tight deadline.
• As finals approached, she found herself burning the midnight oil every night.
• He burned the midnight oil preparing for his big presentation at the conference.
• To finish the manuscript on time, the author decided to burn the midnight oil.
• Despite burning the midnight oil, the students still felt unprepared for the exam.
• They had to burn the midnight oil to ensure the product launch went smoothly.
• Burning the midnight oil became a norm for her during the startup's early days.
• The developers burned the midnight oil to fix the critical bugs before the release.
• He burned the midnight oil to catch up on the work he missed during his vacation.
• The journalist burned the midnight oil to complete the article before the morning deadline.