five o'clock shadow

or five-o'clock shadow

noun

1. the rather dark stubble that appears on a man's face some hours after shaving, typically in the late afternoon if he shaved in the morning.

five-o'clock shadow

noun

1. beard growth visible late in the day on a man's shaven face

Word History and Origins

Origin of five o'clock shadow¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Seeing Powell transmogrify from nerdy Gary to five o’clock shadow Ron and back again is both hilarious and tantalizing, while Arjona has a big-eyed innocence crossed with wily smarts that keeps everyone, including Gary, guessing.

From New York Times

Simpson, whose flat stare and five o’clock shadow ended up on the cover of Time — albeit darkened unnecessarily by the magazine.

From Seattle Times

He sprinted - arms outstretched, tuft of hair protruding from his forehead like a five o'clock shadow - towards the bench to be embraced in the knowledge Brazil were world champions.

From BBC

That it succeeds as well as it does can be chalked up to a lot of different things, including the pleasures of Provincetown in the fall, the sights of New York at Christmastime and the unerring perfection of Luke Macfarlane’s five o’clock shadow.

From Los Angeles Times

This was the era of the clones... very short cropped hair, big moustache, strong five o'clock shadow, plaid shirts, tight jeans and builder's boots.

From BBC