Catching some z's

Posted by Baceseras on July 24, 2008 at 15:11

In Reply to: Catching some z's posted by ESC on July 24, 2008 at 10:11:

: : What is the original meaning of "catching some z's"?

: : Yes, of course I know it's about sleep, or a quick sleep or nap, but why?

: I thought we had discussed this before and we did. But looks like we didn't come up with a definitive answer. I guess zzzzz sounds like snoring.

: Cartoonists have been using "zzz" to represent sleep for at least 50 years, according to Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).

It represents the buzzing sound of a mechanical saw. 'Sawing logs' is slang for snoring. (Cartoonists have also signified by a picture of a law being sogged - I mean a saw being logged - dammit! log being sawed - in a dream-baloon above a sleeping figure.)