the Land of Nod

the Land of Nod

The state of sleep; the figurative realm one goes to when sleeping. The phrase is likely an allusion to how one's head nods when one is falling asleep. I would have told you this last night, but you were already in the Land of Nod, and I didn't want to wake you. I have a hard time getting to the Land of Nod at night. I've always got too much going on in my head.

See also: land, nod, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

land of Nod

a state of sleep. (Humorous. From the fact that people sometimes nod when they are falling asleep.) The baby is in the land of Nod. Look at the clock! It's time we were all in the land of Nod.

See also: land, nod, of

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

land of Nod

a state of sleep.

In the Bible, the Land of Nod was the place to which Cain was exiled after the murder of his brother Abel (Genesis 4:16). It has been used punningly to refer to sleep since the 18th century, notably by Jonathan Swift in Polite Conversation ( 1731–8 ): ‘I'm going to the Land of Nod’.

See also: land, nod, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017