/ˈsliːp ɒn ɪt/
English idiom, everyday. To wait until the next day before making a decision.
Draft Not yet checked by a native English speaker.
How do people use Sleep on it
?
Everyday English, polite enough for a business meeting. It’s the friendly way to delay an answer: “let me sleep on it”, “I’ll sleep on it and call you tomorrow”. You can swap “it” for the decision itself (“sleep on the offer”).
Also said sleep on something
Sleep on it
in real sentences
-
Let me sleep on it.
Tatoeba, sentence by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
-
Sleep on it before deciding.
Tatoeba, sentence by _undertoad, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Sleep on it
come from?
The picture is literal: you go to bed with the question and answer it in the morning. English Wiktionary gives no etymology or early quotation for it, and no dated first use is recorded.
Mistakes learners make with Sleep on it
Mixing it up with the newer slang “sleep on”, which means to overlook something good (“don’t sleep on this album”). “I slept on your idea” can sound like you ignored it, so say “I’ve slept on it” when you mean you thought it over.
Other English idioms like Sleep on it
Spot a mistake in Sleep on it
?
Send a correction, or a sentence you’d actually say with it. Everything is read before anything on this page changes.