to let the bedbugs bite
- idiom
- Informal
:
que los chinches muerdan
- As she tucked her son in, she whispered, "Goodnight, and let the bedbugs bite!" with a mischievous smile.
Examples
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He texted me, "Sweet dreams—let the bedbugs bite!" just to be silly.
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Good night! Just let the bedbugs bite!
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We laughed and joked before bed, telling each other not to let the bedbugs bite.
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Good night! Let the bedbugs bite!
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As she tucked her son in, she whispered, "Goodnight, and let the bedbugs bite!" with a mischievous smile.
-
He texted me, "Sweet dreams—let the bedbugs bite!" just to be silly.
-
We laughed and joked before bed, telling each other not to let the bedbugs bite.
Synonyms
14
3.4
To wish someone a good night's sleep
A playful goodnight wish hoping someone has good dreams
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a conventional, jocular bedtime formula whose intended meaning is 'good night' rather than the literal allowance of insects biting. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would likely interpret the phrase literally or be confused by the ironic usage; the polite/idiomatic sense is culturally specific and not predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Let the bedbugs bite comes from an old children's rhyme that goes 'Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite'. Because bedbugs are small insects that bite people in their beds, the funny image of warning someone not to be bitten became a playful way to say 'good night'.