sleep tight
14
3.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
que descanses
- Before she turned off the light, she whispered to her son, 'Good night, sleep tight, and dream sweetly.'
- Good night, sleep tight
- sleep tight at night
In the meantime, sleep tight, have fun, be cool.
- In the meantime, sleep tight, have fun, be cool.
Examples
-
"Sleep tight, ladies."
Fiction book (1993) -
And speaking of the pillows, we just adore that Silversea offers a "pillow menu" of nine different options, so you can sleep tight and just right.
Blog text (18) -
Well, sleep tight in the Presidential Suite, Rachel.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Sleep tight," I said too softly for her to hear, or so I thought.
Fiction book (1998) -
- Sleep tight now.
-
"Sleep tight, missy missy," Rachel said.
Fiction book (2001) -
Her father used to tuck the blankets under her shoulders and beneath her chin, kiss her forehead: "Sleep tight, like a bug in a rug."
Fiction book (1993) -
As the children settled in their beds, their father said, 'Sleep tight, kids, and I'll see you in the morning.'
-
Every night, she tucks her daughter in and reminds her, 'Sleep tight, my love, and remember I am just down the hall.'
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A way to say goodbye and wish someone a nice night before sleep
9
1.0
To wish someone a good night before they go to sleep
To tell someone you hope they have nice dreams before they sleep
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'sleep' and 'tight' plausibly combine to mean 'sleep snugly' or 'sleep soundly', so a B1 learner who knows both words can often infer the general goodnight-wish sense. However, the pairing is a conventionalized collocation in English and 'tight' in this idiomatic use is not a fully predictable adverbial meaning, so the exact pragmatic formulaic usage requires exposure. Given the partial compositionality but conventionalized nature, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Sleep tight may come from old beds that had ropes under the mattress. People pulled the ropes tight so the bed was firm and they could sleep well. That's why sleep tight now means 'have a good night's sleep'.