hit the hay

English

Etymology

A reference to how farmers tend to stuff the hay from their farms into sacks and then lie down on top of said sacks when they go to sleep.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

hit the hay (third-person singular simple present hits the hay, present participle hitting the hay, simple past and past participle hit the hay)

1. (slang) To go to bed.
   • 1917, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 3, in The Sheriff's Son:

     "Time to hit the hay," Dave yawned. The bartender called "Good-night" as Dingwell went out of the swinging doors.

Synonyms

• turn into a pumpkin
• hit the sack

Translations

to go to bed

• Catalan: clapar (ca)
• Dutch: naar bed gaan, gaan slapen
• French: aller dormir, se coucher (fr)
• Latvian: likties uz auss
• Malay: meletakkan kepala
• Polish: uderzyć w kimono (pl) pf
• Russian: улечься на боковую (ulečʹsja na bokovuju)
• Spanish: planchar la oreja, empiltrarse (es)