How to interpret this dictionary sentence?

"The truck pulled out of this lot, its bulk unnerving against the dawn."


The sentence above is from a Collins dictionary. I am puzzled by the latter part, particularly the word "dawn". I was wondering whether it is the typo of "lawn", which makes better sense to me. What do you think?

Perhaps "dawn" refers to the sky at the time of dawn.

"Dawn" makes perfect sense to me. It's usually a time of day characterized by peace and tranquility-- when life is just beginning to stir. An oversized freight truck (and all the noise that goes along with it), interrupting such a tranquil setting can be very unnerving.

I agree with Guest #2's explanation.

This is a very "poetical" sentence.

The second part, "its bulk unnerving against the dawn", is a slightly odd "absolute construction", which could be pulled out into its own clause. Note that it would then become "and its bulk WAS unnerving against the dawn" NOT "and its bulk unnerved against the dawn" -- I think this distinction could have been a potential source of confusion. "Unnerving" is here not a fully verbal participle, but an adjective (copular "being" being omitted).

"Against" is being used to suggest contrast, as when we say "his hand looked red against the white of the snow." This is also unusual because the adjective "unnerving" is not usually followed by the word "against".

The sentence conjures up the image of a big black truck seen with the sun's first rays behind it at dawn. "Dawn" for "the light of dawn".

I find the sentence rather irritating because of the unnatural weight thrown on the word "unnerving" by the unusual grammar of the phrase.

There's nothing at all irritating about this sentence. If you read you will see this kind of sentence is very common and with context there'd be no problem at all understanding it. It could only be irritating for someone who is unfamiliar with literary language.

This may be as simple as a difference in taste.

I see. Thank you all for your explanations!:)

I'm trying to figure out what this sentence means, "In the more orless socialistic future toward which mankind seems to be frifing we must still subject ourselves collectively to those severities which answer to our real position upon this only partly hospitable globe.

I'm trying to figure out what this sentence means, "In the more or less socialistic future toward which mankind seems to be drifing we must still subject ourselves collectively to those severities which answer to our real position upon this only partly hospitable globe.