Zero Dark 30/Oh Dark Thirty--When is it?

[ratski]

For me, this has always meant 00:30 hours.
12:30AM to civilians.

Recent ad here for a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show stated that it will start at zero dark thirty or October 24th.
I kiddingly asked them is that the Thursday Night/Friday Morning or the Friday Night/Saturday Morning time period that they are referring to.

The movie will be shown in a Harley Parking lot and I said I didn't want to show up at midnight the day early in fishnet stocking and have to explain to the nice police officer "honestly officer, there is supposed to be a movie here."

The answer I got back was that they considered zero dark thirty to be right after sunset.

I mentioned that the original Rocky Horror showings were all midnight showings and asked them to clarify the time.

So......

When you hear be there at "Zero Dark Thirty" or "Oh dark 30", what time do you show up.

Dave

 

[BadgeBunny]

I really wish you would so up early in fishnet hose. And you need to video you conversation with the nice police officer ...

 

[ByrdC130]

If you're .mil, it's 0030. I've heard it on the civi side as meaning "eh, sometime just after dark". The precision of the term depends on the deliverer.

 

[Hawgman]

In my Air Force days "zero" was a digit, "oh" was a letter. So, the term was almost always "zero dark thirty". To your point, it was no specific or exact time. It was, and would bet, still is a military slang term. When I was in it was slang for "Real dam* early in the morning". As in "The plane will get here at zero dark thirty". Often the reply would be "Do we know exactly when?" The answer might be something like "No, not yet" or "Yeah, zero three forty five."

 

[SMS]

Zero Dark Thirty, in my day and in my understanding didn't refer to a specific time. It is slang for the middle of the damn night or super early in the morning before the sun comes up.

"The convoy departed at zero dark thirty and we were all tired" etc...

 

[rgoodjr]

00:30 is Zero dark thirty.

 

[uncle money bags]

Zero Dark Thirty, in my day and in my understanding didn't refer to a specific time. It is slang for the middle of the damn night or super early in the morning before the sun comes up.

"The convoy departed at zero dark thirty and we were all tired" etc...

exactly.

 

[mugsy]

Ratski - zero/oh dark thirty is not a specific time it just means "Un-Godly early/late". It is a colloquialism not a real time.

BB - be careful what you wish for...

 

[cmhbob]

Zero-dark-thirty is five minutes before oh-dark-stupid.

 

[uncle money bags]

Zero-dark-thirty is five minutes before oh-dark-stupid.

which is 45 minutes late according one of my squad leaders.