Forty winks why

There are frequent biblical references to forty days which mean no more than for a long time , and because of this frequency, the number forty came to have an almost sacrosanct quality, as the English clergyman and schoolmaster Ebenezer Cobham Brewer explained in Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 1 st edition — London, :. A superstitious number, arising from the Scripture use.

Thus Moses was forty days in the mount; Elijah was forty days fed by ravens; the rain of the flood fell forty days, and another forty days expired before Noah opened the window of the ark; forty days was the period of embalming; Jonah gave Nineveh forty days to repent; Our Lord fasted forty days; he was seen forty days after his resurrection; etc. The English poet and playwright William Shakespeare used forty in this indefinite sense in The Tragedy of Coriolanus Folio 1, :.

On faire ground, I could beat fortie of them. Likewise, on 19 th January , the poet and Church of England clergyman George Herbert concluded a letter to his father-in-law, John Danvers, with these words:. I have forty businesses in my hands : your Courtesie will pardon the haste of Your humblest Servant, George Herbert. London, , by William Kitchiner , English optician, inventor of telescopes, amateur musician and cook:.

A 45 min. A synonymous expression is to "catch a few z's. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Wikipedia The phrase forty winks , meaning a short nap, can be traced back to Dr. The phrase is mentioned in a November issue of the British Literary Chronicle , in a review of Kitchiner's book: Sleep is a subject on which our author acknowledges his feelings are tremblingly alive; he is fond of a 'forty-winks' nap in an horizontal posture,' as the best preparative for any extraordinary exertion, either of body or mind.

Here is a clip from an copy of Kitchiner's book: The use of quotes around a forty winks nap seems to indicate Kitchiner might have borrowed the phrase from elsewhere, but I can't find it in any form earlier than his use of it.

Improve this answer. Doug at Etymonline has updated his entry with my finding. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Linked Related Hot Network Questions. Question feed. Accept all cookies Customize settings. When you take part in our national sleep study and no obligation home presentation. What is Forty Winks?

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