Literal translation
the hour of the brushwood
Meaning
a very late hour
Explanation
Ouro means the hour, dei is a contracted form of the article corresponding to of the, and brousso, related to the verb broussa, to brush or to turn, here denotes the brushwood or scrub, the low, dense vegetation of the Provençal hills; l'ouro dei brousso thus literally translates as the hour of the brushwood, an image evoking the late point in the evening when falling night blurs the landscape's outlines into the surrounding scrub, or the moment one returns late from working in the scrub-covered hills. In use, the expression simply means a very late hour, as shown by the traditional example we're eating at the hour of the brush again, said of a meal taken well past its usual time. The word dei, absent as a standalone form from the reference dictionaries, is analyzed as the expected contraction of de and lei, the, common in Provençal speech before a plural noun. The register is familiar, used in everyday conversation to complain, with a touch of humor, about a mealtime running late.