forty winks

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a short nap.

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forty winks British  

noun

1. informal (functioning as singular or plural) a short light sleep; nap

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forty winks Cultural  

1. A nap; a short sleep: “If you're feeling drowsy, take forty winks; I'll wake you when our guests arrive.”

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forty winks Idioms  

1. A brief nap, as in There's just time for forty winks before we have to leave. This expression supposedly was first recorded in 1828 and relies on wink in the sense of “sleep,” a usage dating from the 14th century.

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Etymology

Origin of forty winks

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

We probably all know about counting sheep, or letting sleeping dogs lie, but the facts about forty winks in the animal kingdom are still subject to debate.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2014

Then I managed to get forty winks or so of sleep around sunrise.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

Now he was going to catch forty winks.

From The Messenger by Robins, Elizabeth

From every doorway the crowds hurried forth after dinner, scorning the sacred forty winks.

From The Passionate Elopement by MacKenzie, Compton

Then, just as I was thinking about forty winks, up spoke an old chap in one corner, grey-bearded, sunburnt, and attired in dungarees, grey woollen shirt and patched coat.

From From Chart House to Bush Hut Being the Record of a Sailor's 7 Years in the Queensland Bush by Bryde, Charles W. L.