the sun is over the yardarm
dated Used to refer to the time of day when it is permissible to begin drinking alcohol: I never drink until the sun is over the yardarm...- The argument can be made that there's no better time to take the full measure of a political player than over a plate of barely done eggs at 8 a.m. or after a belt or two when the sun has dipped below the yardarm.
- Hey, the sun's past the yardarm in Delhi; it's 5: 30 pm there already.
- By the time I had managed to drag him out of Brenda's begonia bed and into the car, the sun was way over the yardarm and I had no reason not to open a brace of beers the moment we swerved out into the oncoming traffic.
See parent entry: yardarm