sleep of the just
1
8.4
- noun
- Literature
:
sueño de los justos
- Sleep of the just.
Examples
-
Francis Davenport IV, tonight you sleep the sleep of the just.
-
This plan pleased the two friends no end, and they slept the sleep of the just that night.
Fiction book (1992) -
She opened it wide, noiselessly so as not to awaken him, and immediately she caught the summer breath of the afternoon, the same one that had illuminated her and brought him the sleep of the just and that disbelieving drowsiness.
Fiction book (1995) -
After a long day of helping others, she finally fell into a deep rest, sleeping the sleep of the just.
-
He felt satisfied with his good deeds, knowing he would sleep the sleep of the just all night long.
-
The children drifted off peacefully, sleeping the sleep of the just after a day filled with laughter.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A natural rest when a person is not awake and the body gets energy
69
1.1
A night of sleep that makes you feel rested and ready for the day
14
2.8
A heavy sleep when the body and mind rest and are not aware of surroundings
Antonyms
How Peaceful
- Literature
1
8.4
19
3.2
1
3.7
110
3.0
7
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is largely compositional — 'sleep' modified by 'of the just' can be interpreted as the sleep belonging to righteous or deserving people, which conveys a sense of peaceful, deserved rest. However, the construction is somewhat literary/archaic (the nominalized 'the just') and the specific idiomatic nuance 'undisturbed, deserved rest' may not be fully predictable for an average B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Sleep of the just comes from Bible and church ideas about good people: the word just means a good, 'righteous' person and the idea is that they can sleep without fear or worry. So today it means 'a peaceful, worry-free sleep' that someone deserves after living a good life.