1.
overnight pickling
Vegetables pickled quickly by salting and pressing overnight, rather than through long fermentation.
2.
cramming; last-minute preparation
Studying or preparing intensively at the last minute, especially the night before an exam.
Literally "overnight pickling." The original meaning refers to a quick pickling method where vegetables are salted and pressed for just one night. The figurative sense of cramming for exams is extremely common among students and is the more frequently encountered meaning in everyday conversation.
Common collocations
- 一夜漬けの勉強: last-minute studying
- 一夜漬けで済ませる: to get by with cramming
- 一夜漬けの知識: superficially crammed knowledge
- 白菜の一夜漬け: overnight pickled Chinese cabbage
Usage
The figurative sense carries a negative connotation, implying that the preparation is shallow and the knowledge will not last. Often used self-deprecatingly by students.