Meaning of “come eleven a.m. or so”?

Question

I'm reading *The Fermented Man* by Derek Dillinger. The author talks about his reaction towards sugary sweets after one year of eating very simply. It turns out the average amount of sugar most Americans put in their coffee tastes awfully sweet to him. Then he says:> I rediscovered the crash you feel from a sugar rush, **an hour or two> afterward**, when you get nothing more substantial in your stomach.> Coffee and a doughnut do not a good morning make, **come eleven a.m. or> so.**I’m very confused about the time references here, especially “come eleven a.m. or so”. What comes eleven a.m. or so? This part seems so fragmental and lacks its subject that I don’t know how to read it. Is he saying something like… he had his breakfast (coffee and a doughnut) around nine a.m. and had sugar crash an hour or two afterward, which is around eleven a.m. ?

Answer 1

Hi,

Yes, you are correct! The time references are referring to consumption of a sugary treat and then "an hour or two afterward", the sugar rush. After this reference, the reader can then infer that the coffee and doughnut described must be consumed around 9 am if the character is experiencing a sugar rush "come eleven a.m. or so."

I hope this helped!

Cheers,

Sofia G.