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forty winks

 
Dictionary: forty winks
 

pl.n. Informal. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

A short nap.


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Idioms: forty winks
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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.


 
WordNet: forty winks
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a short sleep (usually not in bed)
  Synonyms: nap, catnap, cat sleep, short sleep, snooze


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more

 

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