From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin the cold light of dayin the cold light of dayin the morning, when you can think clearly or see something clearly The house seemed less threatening in the cold light of day. → cold
Examples from the Corpus
in the cold light of day• Night-time madness isn't appealing, seen in the cold light of day.• I knew that, in the cold light of day, he held all the aces. 