A five o'clock shadow is beard growth visible late in the day on a man whose face was clean-shaven in the morning. The term comes from the traditional nine-to-five workday hours.

History

During the 1980s, inspired largely by the then-popular television series "Miami Vice" and its unshaven lead character, James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson), two-day stubble gained not only social acceptance, but even popularity. This is also known as designer stubble, particularly if it is groomed, shaped, and maintained as a regular beard would be.

The most famous politician in history to sport a five o'clock shadow, at a time when it was still considered a "faux pas", was U.S. president Richard Nixon, who is said to have lost the 1960 presidential election in part due to his unfortunate stubbled appearance during the televised United States presidential election debates with John F. Kennedy.

Another famous media figure with this facial look is Homer Simpson from the cartoon series The Simpsons, although in his case it grows immediately after shaving in the morning.

In Playboy magazine (2007-08; pg. 23), citing Women's Health magazine: 86% of women think that a five o'clock shadow is "not hot."

Other uses

As a proper noun, Five O'Clock Shadow may refer to:*Five O'Clock Shadow, an all-male a cappella rock band from Boston, Massachusetts (1991–2003).

*"Five O'Clock Shadow", a crime novel (2004) by Susan Slater (ISBN 1-59058-104-0).

*"' [http://www.focscomic.com Five O'clock Shadow] , a humorous web comic started in 2008.