Slept like a log

Posted by Smokey Stover on April 17, 2008 at 19:16:

In Reply to: Slept like a log posted by ESC on April 17, 2008 at 10:08:

: : What is the meaning of this idiom 'slept like a log', also 'in the doghouse'?

: My take on the phrases:

: If you "sleep like a log," it is a deep sleep. You don't toss and turn, get up or wake up.

: "In the doghouse" means you're in trouble. You have displeased someone. The general idea is that a husband (most of the time) has made his wife so mad that she won't let him in the house. He has to go sleep outside in the doghouse. It is a step further than "on the couch."

As for "slept like a log," it apparently means slept like an inert piece of wood, that is, slept well (and presumably quietly, if the log metaphor is to be continued). This seems to be the view of the Oxford English Dictionary, which cites, as an example, Robert Louis Stevenson,Treasure Island," II. vii. 59, I must have slept like a log."
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