Sleep tight ?
key...@pacific.net.sg
Hey,
Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
Does it have sexual inference?
A "mute point" (previously posted) at least makes sense to me but
"sleep tight", I find baffling.
Does this mean it is bad to "sleep loose".
"Eyeyah", as we say in Hong Kong.
Murray Arnow
I always though that this came from the children's rhyme
Good night,
Sleep tight,
Don't let the bed bugs bite.
Engkent
>In article <34b771de...@snews.zippo.com>, key...@pacific.net.sg wrote:
>>Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
>>
>>Does it have sexual inference?
>>
>>A "mute point" (previously posted) at least makes sense to me but
>>"sleep tight", I find baffling.
>>
>>Does this mean it is bad to "sleep loose".
>I always though that this came from the children's rhyme
>Good night,
>Sleep tight,
>Don't let the bed bugs bite.
It has no sexual reference. Young children are "tucked" into bed, with the
covers close around them. Babies are "swaddled" or bundled, again with
coverings tight. My guess is that "sleep tight" refers to this idea that close
coverings are good.
Lucia
Thomas Schenk
key...@pacific.net.sg wrote:
> Hey,
>
> Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
Partridge, in his *Dictionary of Historical Slang*, says: " 'Sleep
tight, mind the fleas don't bite". A children's bed-time catch-phrase.
:late 19th-20th century."
"Tight", in this instance, means "snug(ly)", i.e. snug in bed. The
expression is still current in the US, and when used by adults ("Good
night, sleep tight") simply means "I hope you will get a good night's
sleep."
> Does it have sexual inference?
Since it is derived from a children's phrase, one would probably have
to be a p(a)edophiliac to give it any sexual connotation.
> A "mute point" (previously posted) at least makes sense to me but
> "sleep tight", I find baffling.
I hope this will remove the bafflement.
>
>
> Does this mean it is bad to "sleep loose".
Only if by "loose" you mean "unsnugly".
>
>
> "Eyeyah", as we say in Hong Kong.
"Eyeyah" will require further clarification for most readers.
Best regards,
Tom
--
*******************
Dr Thomas M Schenk
Laguna Beach, California
Don Livingston
In article <34b771de...@snews.zippo.com>,
>Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
>
In its most common usage it does not have any sexual overtones. It is
used mostly by parents when putting their children to bed. It means,
"Sleep well".
Joseph C Fineman
Thomas Schenk <"tmschenk"@ix.netcom.(ZZZZ)com> writes:
>key...@pacific.net.sg wrote:
>> Hey,
>>
>> Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
>Partridge, in his *Dictionary of Historical Slang*, says: " 'Sleep
>tight, mind the fleas don't bite". A children's bed-time catch-
>phrase. :late 19th-20th century."
Some more elaborate versions:
Good night.
Sleep tight.
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
Good night.
Sleep tight.
Wake up bright
By morning light
To do what's right
With all your might.
That last one really takes me back. I suppose my mother taught it to
me when I was two years old.
>"Tight", in this instance, means "snug(ly)", i.e. snug in bed. The
>expression is still current in the US, and when used by adults ("Good
>night, sleep tight") simply means "I hope you will get a good night's
>sleep."
I parse it as a predicate adjective, myself.
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: It could be worse. It could be rock and roll. :||
Perchprism
keyplex wrote:>
>Hey,
>
>Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
>
>
I saw a TV show (it might have been "This Old House") where the expression was
explained. In the old days, before box springs, beds were made of an open frame
with ropes stretched across at intervals to support the mattress, and these
ropes required TIGHTening from time to time.
BL
Trish
I believe it refers to fact that in the past, beds had a net-like
construction of rope, where we would now use a mattress. Over this the
bedding was placed. Before going to bed, the ropes would be tightened, so
that the person would not sink too far into the bed, hence "Sleep tight".
It's amazing what you can pick up from children's TV shows.
: )
Trish
Dublin, Ireland
remove "nospam" to email me
key...@pacific.net.sg wrote in message
<34b771de...@snews.zippo.com>...
Brian J Goggin
On Sat, 10 Jan 1998 21:29:05 -0000, "Trish" <plo...@tinet.nospam.ie>
wrote:
>I believe it refers to fact that in the past, beds had a net-like
>construction of rope, where we would now use a mattress. Over this the
>bedding was placed. Before going to bed, the ropes would be tightened, so
>that the person would not sink too far into the bed, hence "Sleep tight".
>It's amazing what you can pick up from children's TV shows.
===OED extract from entry on "tight" used as adverb=====
1. Soundly, roundly; = tightly 1. Now chiefly in colloq. phr. (good
night) sleep tight, a conventional (rhyming) formula used when parting
for the night or at bedtime. Also in slang phr. blow me tight: see
blow v.1 29.
1790 J. Fisher Poems 61, I charg'd them tight, An' gart them pay o'
lawing clink, Mair than was right.
1898 Elizabeth & German Garden 29 She had been so tight asleep.
1933 E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! iii. ii. 101 Good night, Son. Sleep
tight.
1957 [see nighty-night int.].
1960 D. Lessing In Pursuit of English iii. 99 When we left him, she
patted his shoulder with triumphant patronage, and said: _Sleep tight.
And keep your dreams clean.'
1976 _R. Boyle' Cry Rape xxi. 94 Goodnight, Anne. Sleep tight.
===ends=====
bjg
Truly Donovan
On Sat, 10 Jan 1998 13:13:38 GMT, key...@pacific.net.sg wrote:
>Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
It means simply "sleep well" -- no tossing and turning, no bad dreams,
etc.
>
>Does it have sexual inference?
No.
>Does this mean it is bad to "sleep loose".
Couldn't say -- never heard the expression.
--
Truly Donovan
reply to truly at lunemere dot com
Andrew Virnuls
In article <698lsc$1vu$1...@nntp4.u.washington.edu>, de...@u.washington.edu
(Don Livingston) wrote:
>
> In article <34b771de...@snews.zippo.com>,
> >Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
> >
>
> used mostly by parents when putting their children to bed. It means,
> "Sleep well".
When we were little, our mother used to tuck the blankets in so tight that
it was like sleeping in a tourniquet. I think she was taking it a bit too
literally.
As we're in alt.usage.english, I'm afraid I can't let the question "Does it
have any sexual inference?" go without comment. Is this not another case of
someone confusing "infer" and "imply"? Surely the question should have been
"Does it have any sexual implications?"
--
A N D R E W vir...@argonet.co.uk Honey traps more flies than vinegar
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/virnuls Fine words butter no parsnips
Mark Barton
On Sat, 10 Jan 1998 5:13, key...@pacific.net.sg
<mailto:key...@pacific.net.sg> wrote:
>Hey,
>
>Anyone know what "sleep tight" means ?
It's much the same as "sleep soundly" or "sleep well".
>Does it have sexual inference?
No.
>A "mute point" (previously posted) at least makes sense to me but
>"sleep tight", I find baffling.
>
>Does this mean it is bad to "sleep loose".
"To sleep with" can mean to have sex with, and "loose" can mean having sex
with too many people or too little restraint, but "sleep loose" is not a
recognised idiom as far as I know.
Cheers,
Mark B.
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Justin B Rye
Mark Barton <mba...@icrr.no.u-tokyo.spam.ac.jp> wrote:
> "To sleep with" can mean to have sex with, and "loose" can mean having sex
> with too many people or too little restraint, but "sleep loose" is not a
> recognised idiom as far as I know.
To quote a Greek friend of mine (who has an ear for such things), lying
around and sleeping is much safer than sleeping around and lying.
JBR - not really @SPAMTRAP
Ankh kak! (Ancient Egyptian blessing)