proverb · Legacy record
Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailor's warning.
Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailor's warning.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The rhyme treats a red evening sky as reassuring and a red morning sky as a warning for sailors. Time of observation changes the forecast it offers.
What the words are saying
The checked Met Office discussion gives the red-sky rule a conditional basis where weather usually arrives from the west. That is context rather than a guarantee for every place or day. A useful explanation preserves the morning-evening contrast without turning the rhyme into navigation advice.
Everyday example
A reader identifies the evening-morning distinction and asks what conditions the explanation depends on.
When to use it
Use it to discuss conditional weather lore rather than a universal rule.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
The rhyme is not a guaranteed forecast or a substitute for navigational information.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 595; PDF page 86
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.