forty winks

noun
/ˌfɔːti ˈwɪŋks/UK/ˌfɔɹti ˈwɪŋks/US

Etymology

From forty + winks, possibly referring to a nap supposedly lasting as long as it takes a person to wink (i.e., blink) forty times.

Definitions

  1. A short sleep, especially when taken during the day

    A short sleep, especially when taken during the day; a nap.

    • Near-synonyms: shut-eye, twenty winks; see also Thesaurus:shut-eye
    • As you’re so tired, why not try to catch forty winks before you leave?

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for forty winks. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA