A las tantas/hasta las tantas-specific use

Question

I am aware that a las tantas means in the early hours of the morning, at the crack of dawn or as is often used, at least, in Ireland and the UK, the wee small hours. I know it is regularly used with volver/regresar/llegar to mean to return in the early hours, usually after a night out.

It is the same in English .

Example:

I arrived back in the wee small hours
I didn't get home till the early hours/all hours.

I see a previous related thread: What's the etymology of "las tantas"?

Anyway, my question is: could you say?

No pegué ni ojo hasta las tantas
A menudo no pego ni ojo hasta las tantas.

Or is it reserved for getting in after a night out. We usually use it like that in English but it doesn't sound bad to say ''I didn't get to sleep until all hours etc''.

I am aware that las altas horas is a synonym.

Answer 1

Sí, ambas posibilidades son correctas. Para cuando alguien llega a un lugar se diría "llegar a las tantas (de la noche, madrugada, etc.)", mientras que para tu ejemplo de ‘no pegar ni ojo’ sería hasta las tantas. En realidad, la expresión en sí es las tantas referido a un período de tiempo que se extiende más de lo normal. En el CORDE hay ejemplos para ambos casos 1, 2.

PD: Sobre la etimología, supongo que vendría de algo así como "las tantas horas de la madrugada", que con el tiempo quedó simplemente como "las tantas de la madrugada" o incluso como "las tantas". Aunque es difícil conocer las etimologías de locuciones como estas a menos que esté claramente documentado y confirmado cuál y de quién fue el primer uso.

Answer 2

Being an intensifier, plural feminine indefinite pronoun "tantas" refers to plural feminine "hours" and indicates "so many hours after the time the person was supposed to come back, or to go to bed, or to finish doing something":

• Llegó a las tantas de la madrugada (too late)

• Se acostó a las tantas de la noche (too late)

• Trabajó hasta las tantas (till too late in the evening)

As stated in the comments below, "las tantas" can be used to refer to exceeding the normal hours, whatever the action involved.

I have just realized that it can be used not only in prepositional phrases likes the ones above but also in nominal functions without a preposition, for example:

• Eran las tantas cuando llegó de trabajar. (It was late at night when he came back from work)

Another important note to make is that in any of such sentences there is no accurate information as to what time it was. The only thing that is for sure is that it was too late or later than usual or expected.