丑うし三みつ

noun

dead of night; midnight

Refers to the deepest, quietest part of the night, often with a spooky or eerie connotation. Commonly used in expressions like 丑三つ時.

• 丑うし三みつ時どきになると、町まちは静しずまり返かえる。

  At the dead of night, the town falls completely silent.

• 怪かい談だんでは、丑うし三みつに幽ゆう霊れいが出でると言いわれる。

  In ghost stories, it's said that ghosts appear at the dead of night.

noun

third quarter of the ox's hour (around 2-2:30am or 3-3:30am)

Archaic timekeeping term; the original meaning referring to a specific period in the old Japanese temporal system. Now only encountered in historical contexts.

See also: 丑の刻

• 江え戸ど時じ代だいの丑うし三みつは、現げん代だいの午ご前ぜん2時じから2時じ半はん頃ごろにあたる。

  The third quarter of the ox's hour in the Edo period corresponds to around 2:00–2:30 AM today.