forty winks

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We probably all know about counting sheep, or letting sleeping dogs lie, but the facts about forty winks in the animal kingdom are still subject to debate.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2014

Then I managed to get forty winks or so of sleep around sunrise.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

“I mean those two chaps that caught me fast asleep under Paul’s rug on the back seat, taking forty winks when I ought to have kept wide awake.”

From The Auto Boys' Vacation by Braden, James A. (James Andrew)

Now he was going to catch forty winks.

From The Messenger by Robins, Elizabeth

"I feel a bit sleepy," admitted Crosthwaite; "but don't you think you ought to have forty winks, sir?"

From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)