to hit the sheets
1
8.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
ir a la cama
- After a long day at work, I just want to hit the sheets and get some rest.
Examples
-
You can hit the sheets or the streets.
-
At the end of the evening, the Young Thing refused to hit the sheets with Old Guy.
Blog text (17) -
So I put in four hours of OT don't hit the sheets until almost 5:00 and I can't kick his beer can across my floor?
-
He had needed a lot of rest as a child, and even as an adult, had always been able to dive into dreamland soon after hitting the sheets.
Fiction book (1991) -
She decided to hit the sheets early tonight to prepare for her big meeting tomorrow.
-
After finishing his book, he was ready to hit the sheets for a good night's sleep.
Synonyms
485
1.0
To get into bed to sleep
369
1.0
To stop being awake and rest with your eyes closed
52
3.2
Stop what you are doing for the evening, usually to go to bed or go home
27
3.5
To go to bed to sleep
16
5.8
Go to bed to sleep, usually at night
10
6.0
To go to bed to sleep
8
6.0
To go to bed to sleep after a long day
5
6.8
To sleep in a temporary place like on the floor or in the living room
4
7.5
To go to bed to sleep
4
4.5
To sleep in a temporary place like a barn or tent
4
3.7
To go to bed and fall asleep quickly because you are tired
3
3.3
To go to bed slowly because you feel very tired
1
8.8
To sleep very early, often soon after sunset
To go to bed or sleep
To sleep somewhere for a short time, often on a sofa
To sleep early in the evening when the sun goes down
Antonyms
How Tired
- Informal
111
7.0
- Informal
1
8.6
- Informal
27
3.5
485
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
hit + the + sheet
The literal parts ('hit' = strike, 'sheets' = bed linen) make a plausible link to going to bed, but here 'hit' is used metaphorically (like in 'hit the sack/hay/road') to mean 'go to' rather than its literal sense. This pattern is a colloquial, somewhat idiomatic use that a B1 learner might plausibly infer from the words but would more reliably understand after exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Hit the sheets creates a simple picture: when you are very tired you hit the bed covers and fall onto the sheets to sleep. So, the expression means 'to go to bed' or 'to sleep'.