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Can you use "at dusk" in the meaning of "at the end"?

English Language & Usage Asked by daskas on June 22, 2021

Can you use "at dusk" to describe something at its later or final stage?

E.g. Does "at the dusk of the 20th century" make any sense at all? If not, is there any expression that would convey this meaning?

One Answer

Although dawn is definitely used to refer to the onset or start of something, "the dawn of the twentieth century," I have never come across dusk being used in this way, despite "dawn to dusk" being a set phrase of opposites.

Google Books does contain a few examples, but they seem to be translations from German.

My preference would be for twilight (which is always associated with evening or the end of days, despite being equally valid in the morning) or something like fading years of the century.

That said, it's a poetic use of language which would not be misunderstood; but it is a poetic use of language.

Answered by Andrew Leach on June 22, 2021

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