|
|
I have not slept one winkMeaningI have not slept at all. OriginThe notion of getting not even a single moment's sleep has been in the language since the 14th century. Robert Manning of Brunne, in his work Handlyng synne, 1303, records the phrase in Middle English:
In language that is a little more accessible to most readers in the 21st century we have Shakespeare's use of the idea in Cymbeline, 1611:
See other phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.
Tudor Phrases and Sayings - a book on the meanings and origins of the phrases and sayings that Shakespeare and Henry VIII used that we use still use every day. |