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Glite Dictionary
to not sleep a wink

to not sleep a wink

8 5.0
Not sleep at all during the night
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : no dormir nada
  • We got in last night; we couldn't sleep a wink.
  • did not sleep a wink that night

Examples

Synonyms

to lie awake
vsto not sleep a wink
22 3.7

To stay in bed and not be able to sleep

is having no rest at all rather than only being in bed restless
to sleep a wink
vsto not sleep a wink
  • Informal
9 5.7

To get any sleep, usually said when someone did not sleep

is the direct negative phrase meaning receive no rest at all

Antonyms

rest
703 1.0

A period when you stop activity to relax or sleep

good night's sleep
69 1.1

A night of sleep that makes you feel rested and ready for the day

How Much Sleep

to drowse
2 6.1
to not sleep a wink
  • Informal
8 5.0

Surface Forms

not sleep a wink infinitive
did not sleep a wink past
not slept a wink past participle
not sleeping a wink present participle
does not sleep a wink third person singular

Morphology

not + sleep + a + wink

The phrase is partly predictable from its parts: 'not' + 'sleep' clearly signals lack of sleep, and the idiom hinges on 'a wink' meaning 'a very short moment'. However, many B1 learners know 'wink' primarily as an eye gesture and may not recognize its temporal sense without exposure, so the meaning is not fully derivable from the constituents. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. ‘not close an eye’, Spanish ‘no pegar ojo’) make the logic somewhat accessible but still only partially transparent.

Etymology

Not sleep a wink comes from an old idea of a wink as a very short sleep or a blink of the eye; the picture is someone not even closing their eyes for a tiny moment, so the phrase means 'to not sleep at all'.