There are a number of songs, films, and other cultural artefacts that use or reference this term, but I can't figure out if it has some kind of idiomatic meaning. Any ideas?
Learn English – What does the term “night moves” mean
idiomsmeaning
idiomsmeaning
There are a number of songs, films, and other cultural artefacts that use or reference this term, but I can't figure out if it has some kind of idiomatic meaning. Any ideas?
Best Answer
The literal meaning is obviously moves that are made at night, as in the lyrics of Bob Seger's song of that name, the specific kind of moves there being sexual ones. But the earliest of the cultural references (listed by Wikipedia) is the 1975 film with that title, and it's reasonable therefore to assume that this is the origin of the phrase in popular culture. In that film, the title is clearly a pun on 'knight moves', since the central character is interested in chess. The knight in that game is the only piece that is capable of jumping over another, so a 'knight move' might be understood metaphorically as some action that is on a different level to those made by other players; or alternately, as one that goes round corners when all others must travel in straight lines, since that is also a characteristic of the chess knight.