night trick
n.— «Sandra Gill works the “night trick,” a term used to describe the night shift, as a yardmaster at the North White Plains yard of the Metro-North Railroad. She took the job with the thought that working overnight would allow her to be home with her children during the day.» —“Night Shift | Yardmaster” New York Times: City Room Sept. 16, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...
What does G-Fly mean?
FWIW, when I was in the Army in Berlin, 1961-62, the *human resources performing the work* constituted the “trick,” headed by a “trick chief.”
The tricks were alphabetized: A, B, C, & D.
In the sense exemplified above, the standard “shift” was used, the night shift being referred to as the “mid” shift and the other two being called “day’ and “swing,” resp.