expression, noun
dead of night; the witching hour
Idiomatic expression evoking the deep, quiet part of the night when even plants and trees are asleep. Often used in literary or dramatic contexts.
草木も眠る丑三つ時、誰もが静かに寝静まっていた。
In the dead of night, when even the trees and plants sleep, everyone was quietly asleep.
The phrase combines 草木 (plants and trees), も (even), 眠る (sleep), and 丑三つ時 (the hour of the ox, roughly 2–3 AM in the old Japanese time system). It figuratively describes the deepest part of the night when all nature is at rest.