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The “five o’clock shadow” is a phrase used to describe the appearance of a man’s facial hair growth at the end of the day. It is not to be taken literally and varies from person to person. The term originated in a 1930s advertising campaign for razor blades.
The phrase “five o’clock shadow” is an English idiom referring to the appearance of a beard on a man’s face. The expression comes from the fact that many clean-shaven men will grow a slight stubble on their face in the late afternoon or early evening. The slight beard growth usually shows up by the end of the working day, around five o’clock, and looks a bit like a shadow on a man’s face, although when it appears it varies greatly from individual to individual.
An idiom is a phrase that is not to be taken literally. The five o’clock shadow is neither an actual shadow, nor does it necessarily appear only at five o’clock, but is instead used to indicate that a man has a day’s beard, or appears to need a shave. Idioms like this are commonly used and most of the time people use them without even thinking about it. For non-native English speakers, this can add a layer of confusion as they struggle to understand just what is being said. Not meant to be taken literally, idioms add expression and color to the English language.
A five o’clock shadow appears on a man’s face as facial hair grows during the day. Typically, a man shaves in the morning. His hair continues to grow throughout the day at different rates. At the end of the working day, generally considered to be five o’clock, many men will have a beard that appears as a shadow on their face.
The term “five o’clock shadow” originated in the 1930s, when it was coined for use in advertising designed to sell razor blades. The GEM® Razor Blade Company wanted to convince men that they needed to use only Gem razor blades for shaving in order to get the cleanest, best shave possible. The company created an ad campaign that played on the horrors of a man caught with a five o’clock shadow on his face. If a man wanted to look presentable at the end of the day, he had to shave with the best blades possible in the morning so that his stubble would stay gone all day and he wouldn’t suffer the indignity of being caught with a five ‘clock shadow on the face at night.
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