🗓️ Idiom: Pull an All-Nighter (verb)
💬 Meaning
- To stay awake all night to finish work or a project.
- To work or study late into the night to meet a deadline.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The design team had to pull an all-nighter to get the presentation ready for the client.
- I pulled an all-nighter yesterday to finish the quarterly report on time.
- We sometimes pull all-nighters when preparing for big product launches.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase “pull an all-nighter” became popular in American English in the mid-20th century. It likely originated among students who stayed up all night studying before exams. Over time, it spread to business and professional settings, describing people who work through the night to meet tight deadlines or complete urgent tasks.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
We had to ______ to finish the project before the deadline.
Answer
pull an all-nighter
2. Multiple choice:
What does “pull an all-nighter” mean?
a) Take a break from work
b) Stay awake all night to work or study
c) Leave work early
Answer
b) Stay awake all night to work or study
3. Change the sentence using “pull an all-nighter”:
“We worked all night to finish the proposal before the meeting.”
Answer
We pulled an all-nighter to finish the proposal before the meeting.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
📚 Learning Resources
👉 Productivity in the Workplace Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👥 Support Spaces
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
⭐️ Extras
📫 Get a Daily Idiom
🚀 Build a Business with AI