Question

Forty Winks a short nap

Accepted Answer

I just need forty winks and I'll be able to work all night. Since the 1300s, "wink" has referred to sleep, but probably just a short period of sleep because when you wink you close and open your eyelids quickly. In the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, the number forty didn't always mean the number after thirty-nine. It meant an indefinite number or "few." The phrase "forty winks" was first used in 1872 in an issue of the famous British humor magazine Punch.

Idiom	Forty Winks
Example	I just need forty winks and I'll be able to work all night.
Meaning	a short nap
Origin	Since the 1300s, "wink" has referred to sleep, but probably just a short period of sleep because when you wink you close and open your eyelids quickly. In the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, the number forty didn't always mean the number after thirty-nine. It meant an indefinite number or "few." The phrase "forty winks" was first used in 1872 in an issue of the famous British humor magazine Punch.

Forty Number Winks Short I Work Night Nap