sleep a wink

English

Etymology

From Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" Act III Scene IV.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

sleep a wink (third-person singular simple present sleeps a wink, present participle sleeping a wink, simple past and past participle slept a wink)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) To sleep at all.
   • 1968, “I'm So Tired”, in John Lennon (lyrics), The Beatles, performed by the Beatles:

     I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink

Usage notes

Used in negative constructions: I couldn't sleep a wink last night. A related positive construction is forty winks.

Translations

Translations

• Bulgarian: не съм мигнал (ne sǎm mignal)
• Finnish: nukkua silmällinen
• French: ne pas fermer l’œil (fr)
• German: kein Auge zutun (de), kein Auge zumachen
• Greek: δεν έκλεισα μάτι (den ékleisa máti)
• Hungarian: egy szemhunyásnyit sem alszik
• Portuguese: não pregar olho
• Swedish: sova en blund

References

• “sleep a wink”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.