Definition of: "hit the hay" with explanation and origin
Definition of: hit the hay with explanation and origin? Meaning of hit the hay with examples in English idiom dictionary.
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Definition of: "hit the hay" with explanation and origin
hit the hay
hit the hay,
also, hit the sack
Meaning
- to go to sleep or head to bed.
Example Sentences
- I have to get up early, so I better hit the hay soon.
- Before you hit the hay, make sure you take the garbage out to the curb.
- I’m exhausted. I’m going to hit the hay.
- Although I hit the hay around midnight, I didn’t actually fall asleep until well after one o’clock.
Origin
The phrase takes its meaning from the act of sleeping on a bed of hay or upon a mattress stuffed with hay—a common mattress filler used in the 19th Century.
While non-idiomatic and literal uses of the phrase appear in 19th-century literature, the figurative and idiomatic expression seems to have arose in the early part of the 20th Century. The boxer and Olympic gold medalist, Samuel Berger, is often credited with uttering the first recorded use of the phrase in the early years of the century. It was well-established within military circles by the time of the First World War; whether this is owing to Berger’s popularity or an earlier traditional use is not known. However, by the mid-1910s and early-20s, it regularly appears in literature and is utilized with such familiarity that it either took root quickly or it had circulated amongst ordinary working-class families for some time. The latter is highly likely since it expresses familiarity with a working-class form of bedding.
The Origins of hit the hay
SleepEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
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English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
