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

Nothing is so likely to start a day of depression than failure to get up promptly, lounging around with forty winks here and there, reading in bed, and the like.

From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)

The old Squire had withdrawn, laughingly explaining that he could not do without his forty winks on a hot Sunday afternoon.

From The Red Derelict by Mitford, Bertram

The fact is, the day is warm and she is sleepy, and she knows she will not get her forty winks unless he takes himself out of the way.

From Airy Fairy Lilian by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton (AKA Duchess)