Green’s Dictionary of Slang

sparrow-fart n.¹

dawn.

1828		W. Carr Dialect of Craven II 152: Sparrow-Fart. Break of day, very early.
1886		in R. Holland Cheshire Gloss. 331: Sparrowfarts, very early morning ‘Tha mun be up by sparrowfarts or tha’ll be too late’.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Oct. 15/1: Returned at sparrow-chirp, breakfastless, but hoping to reach camp before the heat further affected the old gent’s temper.
1921		(con. 1918) A. Beaman The Squadroon 137: Well, we’ve got to get up at sparrow crack – train goes at half-five, so I’m for beddy-byes.
1943		Sun. Post 7 Feb. 18/4: Service Slang [...] Sparrow start — Very early.
1947		D. Davin Gorse Blooms Pale 194: There we were as usual this morning at Sparrowfart, me with the jeep pulled up in front of the General’s caravan.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 239/2: sparrow-crow – crack of dawn-crow.
1959		D. Hewett Bobbin Up (1961) 94: Gotta be up at sparrer’s fart tomorrer.
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 14: I’ve been standin’ up here on deck since sparrow’s fart.
1977		(con. 1940s) O. Manning Danger Tree 152: No point. Can’t do much before sparrow-fart.
1982		N. Keesing Lily on the Dustbin 25: If she had to get up very early she talked about getting up at ‘sparrowfart’.
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak 132: Sparrows – dawn, very early. Contraction of Up at sparrow’s fart.
1995		D. Lodge Therapy (1996) 31: I’ll go back to bed and see if I can get a few hours’ kip before sparrowfart.
1998		N. Palmer ‘Vegan Reich’ in Home Suspect Device 9: Getting up at sparrow’s fart would do him no good at all.
2007		Observer mag. 58/1: At sparrowfart, the sky in London is gunmetal grey.
2009		P. Temple Truth 43: You could stay, have the barbie, [...] I’ll get you up at sparrer.
2017		T. Spicer Good Girl Stripped Bare 114: He’s back on air at sparrow’s fart.
2018		R. O’Neill ‘Ocker’ in The Drover’s Wives (2019) 181: She’d be up at sparrow fart [...] getting wood for the fiire.
2022		J. Sweeney Twitter 14 Oct. 🌐 We are leaving at sparrow fart.
2022		in D. Andrew Aussie Sl.