sleep a wink

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (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)

(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

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
Swedish: sova en blund

References

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

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