Idiom: Like a thief in the night
Definition
Idiom: like a thief in the night
- something moving quickly, secretly and unexpectedly without being seen.
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Example sentences
— At 1:00 am, my 13-year-old daughter took my car keys, rolled the car down the driveway without turning the engine on and drove away like a thief in the night. She wasn't so quiet coming home a few hours later though.
— Fifteen minutes after class started, I saw Samantha sneak in the classroom like a thief in the night.
— My ex-boyfriend captured my heart like a thief in the night. Although I discovered he was married shortly after meeting him, I was already crazy in love.
— The disease spread like a thief in the night. By the time it was detected, my mom had stage four cancer.
— The enemy's troops descended like a thief in the night and captured the city in just a few hours.
— I had an interview at a rival firm this afternoon. My boss refused to give me time off but I was able to leave the office like a thief in the night.
— When the drama teacher said I had no talent, she stole my dreams like a thief in the night.
— I wonder what really happened with Dr. Johnson? He resigned and left the practice like a thief in the night.
— The blizzard came like a thief in the night and the hiker was stranded on the mountain for 24 hours before the rescue.
— My husband was not surprised our son was addicted to cocaine but the news caught me off guard like a thief in the night.
— COVID-19 really hit the world like a thief in the night. It's heartbreaking that years later it's still disrupted normal ways of life.
Synonyms
- on the sly
- by a side wind
- under the radar
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