English

Etymology
From arriving as the sun went down.

Noun
en-noun

1. AU obsolete A wandering traveller/worker (such as a swagman) who arrived at a farm too late in the day to do any work, but still partook of their hospitality.

#* 1846: C. P. Hodgson, Reminiscences of Australia
#* 1868: Thomas E. Spencer, The Song of the Sundowner ¹

1. (nautical) A harsh disciplinarian sea captain typified by requiring all hands on board by sundown. ²

#* 1985: Ronald H. Spector, Eagle Against the Sun
#*: Arrogant, aloof, and suspicious, a "sundowner," or strict disciplinarian, King inspired respect in many but affection in few.

1. Medicine Colloquial A patient, usually demented, who tends to become agitated in the evening.

#* 1977: Jules Hymen Masserman, Current Psychiatric Therapies, page 179.
#*: These patients may improve by day only to relapse at night (nocturnal delirium or sundowner's syndrome).
#* 1989: William H. Reid, The Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: Revised for the DSM III R., Page 71. ³
#*: They generally occur in the evening or at night in the form of "sundowner" syndrome, as a result of diminished sensory input and social isolation and/or exposure to an unfamiliar environment (e.g., the hospital).
#* 2007: Dennis Fiely, Dark Ages: For the elderly fighting mental or physical problems, life takes a frightening turn when nighttime comes. The Columbus Dispatch, Wednesday, February 07, 2007. ⁴
#*: "Sundowner's syndrome" refers to changes in mood and behavior that begin near dusk.

1. A cocktail consumed at sunset, or to signify the end of the day. A cocktail party in the early evening.

#* 1918: Robert Valentine Dolbey, Sketches of the East Africa Campaign, page 117.
#*: The cocktail, the universal "sherry and bitters" and sundowner will have to be retained.
#* 2005: Franz Wisner, Honeymoon With My Brother: A Memoir, page 243.
#*: Per custom, we capped our drives with a sundowner cocktail party at a scenic vantage point.
#* 2005: Edward M. Bruner, Culture on Tour: Ethnographies of Travel, page 83.
#*: The Sundowner is basically a cocktail party with a buffet on a riverbank in the bush.

vi:sundowner

• 2007-10-31 23:06 - Dmol - /* Noun */ {{en-noun}}

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