concept
Like a thief in the night
thief in the night
also: Яко тать в нощи
A New Testament tag (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10) for the sudden, unannounced Second Coming, applied here half-comically to the count's unannounced arrival.
Reading notes
- The Choristers §2 Like a thief in the night
A scriptural tag (from 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10, of the Second Coming's suddenness) that Father Kuzma applies, half-comically, to the unannounced arrival of the count -- pious language borrowed for a piece of village gossip.