The idiom “in broad daylight” refers to activities done without concern for secrecy, including criminal acts or socially unacceptable behavior. It can also describe the unintentional exposure of a secret. The term suggests a cheeky attitude and is associated with the cultural concept of darkness hiding evil deeds.
The term “in broad daylight” is generally used to describe an activity that is performed in a brazen manner. In most cases, the activities described by the idiom are things people would normally engage in with some secrecy, and the term is used to take note of the lack of concern in keeping the activity hidden. This phrase is also occasionally used to describe the unintentional exposure of a secret through third party intervention, such as when a reporter discovers something undercover during an investigation, and this would normally be used for some type of covert bribery or other negative behavior.
Criminal activities such as burglary are traditionally carried out at night for reasons of secrecy and to some extent this dates back to ancient times. As a result, most cultures think of darkness as a kind of blanket that hides evil deeds, while light is more associated with goodness and truth. The idiom “in broad daylight” is strongly associated with this cultural concept, but its meaning expands beyond simple evil deeds. Someone might use the idiom to describe a burglary done during the day, but it could equally apply to some sort of immodest behavior or anything else that might be considered secretive.
Usually, the use of “daylight” as an idiom suggests a certain cheeky attitude. For example, if a criminal stole a car in front of a whole group of passersby, people might say he was “crazy enough to steal a car in broad daylight.” This term could also be used if the actual burglary occurred at night, as long as it was carried out without concern for stealth.
“In broad daylight” can also be used to describe some kind of socially unacceptable or strange behavior, though it’s not necessarily bad. For example, if someone were to go to the grocery store wearing a Halloween mask in the middle of summer, someone might say, “I saw a man in produce island walking around in a weird mask right there in the middle of the day!” Essentially, any activity done in public that is in any way strange or immodest could cause people to use “broad daylight” to describe it in conversation.
Sometimes “in broad daylight” is used for the purpose of describing an inadvertent exposure of a secret. For example, if a reporter discovers that a politician has taken a bribe, one might say that the politician’s activities have been “brought out of the darkness and into the light of day.” This usage of the term is generally less common.
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