cry oneself to sleep

cry (oneself) to sleep

1. Literally, to cry until one falls asleep. I was so upset after the funeral that I cried myself to sleep. My anxiety has been really bad—I cried myself to sleep again last night. The poor kid has strep throat and a fever, so I sat with her until she cried herself to sleep. It was heartbreaking.

2. When used figuratively, this phrase indicates that one is very upset about something. It is often said sarcastically to mean the opposite. I'm not thrilled with that grade, but it's not like I'm crying myself to sleep over it. Yeah, I'm sure that actor is really crying himself to sleep over a bad review! Come on, this isn't something to cry yourself to sleep over. We can fix it.

See also: cry, sleep, to

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

cry oneself to sleep

to weep until sleep overtakes one. The baby finally cried herself to sleep.

See also: cry, sleep, to

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