Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

The eagle flies at midnight.

What's the origin and meaning of this idiom?

share|improve this question
1  
Where did you hear this? Please can you provide some context? – Hugo May 4 '12 at 18:29

4 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

I've never heard it before, certainly not as some kind of common phrase - but it sounds to me like the sort of line you'd hear in a cheesy wartime spy movie. Some sort of code phrase to inform your accomplices of your plans.

share|improve this answer
Helpful reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_word_(figure_of_speech). I also found a discussion thread with various code phrases from movies: medialine.com/medialineUBB/… – Chris Dwyer Nov 19 '10 at 21:17
As others have pointed out, it definitely occurs as a 'code or pass-phrase' in the 1984 movie Top Secret. The obvious corrolary which has not been pointed out is that as a rule, such 'pass-phrases' are specifically intended to have little if any meaning. If they did have meaning they might get used quite naturally in other contexts, which would make it difficult for the intended recipient to be sure he really had been given 'the signal'. – FumbleFingers May 9 '11 at 14:32
up vote 6 down vote

It's one of the stereotypical spy code phrases used in bad and/or spoof movies. I've seen it credited to Top Secret, but not having seen that movie, I can't vouch for the assertion.

I've also seen it as "the rooster crows at midnight", or "the eagle flies at noon". Alas, my Google-fu is not up to finding a definitive source.

share|improve this answer
up vote 3 down vote

The blues song "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" has the line "the eagle flies on Friday, and Saturday I go out to play".

Friday was payday for laborers all across the U.S. in 1947 when this song was written. The 50 cent and quarter coins that laborers found in their pay envelopes showed eagle images on their back sides during this era. 1947 was actually the last year that the eagle showed up on the half dollar coin.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Liberty_Half_Dollar and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Liberty_Quarter

When workers paid for their fun during Friday night parties the evening of payday, you could say that "the eagle was flying" whenever they threw coins to a bartender to pay for a drink.

I wonder if this "eagle flies at midnight" phrase is an adaptation of this expression. If that's the source, this phrase would mean that a lot of money was changing hands at midnight.

share|improve this answer
I've no idea if there's any truth in your speculation re 'payday', but it certainly has the hallmark of an interesting answer. I like the deft way it links the (later?, but less common and less meaningful) midnight with the Friday version which definitely has meaning, history, and (some) currency. – FumbleFingers May 9 '11 at 14:20
up vote 0 down vote

There's this 'answer' to be found ... http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070822173707AAiQHG9

but my personal suspicion is that it belongs in the same category as 'my postilion has been struck by lightning' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_postillion_has_been_struck_by_lightning )

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.