alarmshadow
/əˈlɑːmˌʃædəʊ/nounVerified NewAlso in: Weckerschatten (Deutsch) · alarmasombra (Español) · réveilombre (Français)
The shadow the coming alarm casts over the last hour of sleep, darkening it before it sounds.
The alarmshadow is why the last hour is never restful: the body knows the deadline, and the sleep thins into a waiting room. The shadow is longest when the alarm is earliest, and it falls even on the dreams, which begin to hurry.
Etym. — alarm + shadow — the optical metaphor for anticipatory dread; a shadow is exactly a darkness cast by something not yet arrived.
Rel. — alarmnegotiation · worryshift
Novelty check: APPROVE
Evidence log
No query log recorded.