forty winks

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forty winks

A nap or a brief sleep. When you have a baby for the first time, you are suddenly forced to learn how to operate on only forty winks at a time. I'm going to go grab a quick forty winks before everyone starts arriving for the dinner party.

See also: forty, wink

forty winks

Fig. a nap; some sleep. I could use forty winks before I have to get to work. I need forty winks before I get started again.

See also: forty, wink

forty winks

A brief nap, as in There's just time for forty winks before we have to leave. This expression supposedly was first recorded in 1828 and relies on wink in the sense of "sleep," a usage dating from the 14th century.

See also: forty, wink

forty winks

OLD-FASHIONED, INFORMAL

If you have forty winks, you have a short sleep. He always has forty winks after supper.

See also: forty, wink

forty winks

a short sleep or nap, especially during the day. informal

This expression dates from the early 19th century, but wink in the sense of ‘a closing of the eyes for sleep’ is found from the late 14th century.

See also: forty, wink

forty ˈwinks

(informal) a short sleep, especially during the day: I managed to get forty winks after lunch.

See also: forty, wink

forty winks

n. a nap; sleep. (Usually with a quantifier. Either forty or some, a few, a bunch of, etc.) I could use forty winks before I have to get to work.

See also: forty, wink

References in periodicals archive ?

With a running time of just an hour, Forty Winks conveys the story of a man - Don - unable to forget his past.

No time to sleep in Forty Winks..

And John Bookless plumped for Forty Winks (a short version of The Big Sleep

Blink and you'll miss my favourite in-flight movies

The stewards had him in for failing to arrive in time to weigh out but then heard from a presumably sheepish Freeman that he had indeed arrived in time to take the ride but had taken the opportunity to catch forty winks in his car and slept in.

Sleepy Freeman finds time is not on his side; THE DIKLER

WARWICKSHIRE performers go out with a bang next week with the amateur premiere of Forty Winks.

Drama fans get chance to snatch Forty Winks

Who is this catching forty winks and looking like astronomer Sir Patrick Moore on a bad glasses day?

A week in the life of the good, bad, and the ugly, and the plain stupid

For a moment I thought they were all off to catch forty winks.

CLUB SCENE: Have a real hoot where the Night Owls swoop; Are you a man or a mouse? Squeak up

RESEARCH shows that sleeping on an uncomfortable bed can be the stuff of nightmares, losing up to an hour of slumber a night - so why not celebrate the beginning of March's National Bed Month with forty winks on a new bed or mattress?

Sleep well it's National Bed Month; ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Forty winks is the secret and eating is giving me a boost.

AMY PLAYS FIVE ALIVE; Exhausted Macdonald does marathon city tour to raise cash for kids charity

The trainer had two fast juveniles in Forty Winks, second to subsequent 2,000 Guineas victor Nebbiolo in the 1976 Gimcrack Stakes, and Absent Chimes, who won the Molecomb in 1984.

Dave Thom dies at the age of79; Nicholson leads tributes to Royal Ascot-winning trainer

What a day, says Gethin Tomos Aeron Williams, who was attending the wedding of his parents Steven and Ceri Williams, of Blaenau FfestiniogHaving forty winks is Alun John who is pictured with his sister Jade.

Celebration/garden of the week

This couple were snapped by an ECHO photographer catching forty winks in the sunshine back in 1977.

Mersey Memory

Before then, the group's Youth Theatre plans two nights of assorted short offerings, including three 'different' pantomimes listed as Cock Robin Hood, Albert Laddin and Forty Winks Beauty.

Culture: What's in a name? Quite a lot!; Amateur theatre correspondent John Slim examines the vexed question of labels

It was common in post-war Britain for district midwives to work for days and nights, going from house to house, snatching forty winks on someone's sofa whenever they could, sustained by endless mugs of tea and bacon butties served up by dads-to-be trying to make themselves useful.

I'm glad Norah gave me a slap in those early days; STEVE EVANS ON THURSDAY

RESEARCH shows that sleeping on an uncomfortable bed can be the stuff of nightmares, losing you up to an hour of slumber a night - so why not celebrate the beginning of March's National Bed Month with forty winks on a brand new bed or mattress?

Sleep soundly during National Bed Month; ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

And so it goes on,as it does,did and will, It's aDog's Life,being a Man,but You soldier on `cos you must,for it's YOU she will trust,and like a Good Soldier, you'll snatch forty winks, when you can.