high noon

the time when a fight or contest will be decided

TRANSLATION

showdown = Showdown, Kraftprobe, Machtprobe, Duell --- 591,000 Google hits

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

HIGH NOON on the high street. Many shops are struggling to survive in Britain’s fast-changing and ruthlessly competitive marketplace

The Economist

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HIGH NOON. Hillary Clinton gegen Donald Trump - das Duell ums Weiße Haus ist offen. Ein wahlkampf ohnegleichen, Aug in Auge, bis zum letzten Augenblick."

FAZ Sonntags Zeitung

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high noon
noun phrase- exactly 12.00 noon

- a crisis or confrontation

- the time when a fight or contest will happen or be decided

- a time, set out in advance, at which an important decision is to be made or a nemesis is to be confronted

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ORIGIN

High noon (when the sun is at the meridian) is from early 14c.; the sense is "full, total, complete."

Solar noon (informally high noon) is the moment when the sun transits the celestial meridian – roughly the time when it is highest above the horizon on that day ("Sun transit time"). This is also the origin of the terms ante meridiem (a.m.) and post meridiem (p.m.)

We use the phrase high noon to metaphorically describe an event or confrontation which is likely to decide the final outcome of a situation.

This meaning is almost certainly connected to the classic 1952 American Western film of the same name, starring Gary Cooper. In nearly real time, the film tells the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers all by himself.

High Noon won four Academy Awards and in 1989 was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", entering the registry during the NFR's first year of existence.

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SYNONYMS

(time)
noon, twelve noon, midday, noonday, noontide

(confrontation)
deciding event, clash, face-off, moment of truth, crisis, final showdown

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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
Say something like:

"Tonight is high noon for America. Let's hope the majority of American voters make the right decision!"

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