Faire la grasse matinée and more french sleep phrases

BOTH THE SANDMAN AND MORPHEUS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN HOW WELL YOU REST IN FRANCE English speakers may find several French terms for rest unfamiliar including la grasse matinée, les bras de

Morphée and le marchand de sable.  Learn these restful terms and impress your French friends with your weekend plans... _FAIRE LA GRASSE MATINÉE _(LITERALLY ‘TO MAKE A FATTY MORNING’): This

expression means to sleep in. It was coined in the 16th Century in the form of ‘_dormir la grasse matinée_’. Now, you will hear _faire la grasse matinée_ or, more simply, _faire la grasse

mat'._ There are two main theories as to the expression’s origins. Some argue that _‘grasse_’ was at the time understood according to its Latin etymology. The word derived from the

Latin ‘crassus’, meaning ‘thick’. Thus, to _faire la grasse matinée_ would be to stay for a long time in the ‘thickness’ of sleep. Others claim that the expression was coined due to the idea

that lying in bed for prolonged periods of time would make somebody fat, which was at the time a sign of opulence and beauty. LEARNING FRENCH: WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF AU FUR ET À MESURE AND

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? _TOMBER DANS LES BRAS DE MORPHÉE _(LITERALLY ‘TO FALL INTO THE ARMS OF MORPHEUS’): This means to fall asleep. Morpheus (_Morphée_) is the Greek god of dreams. He is the

son of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Nyx, the goddess of the night. Morpheus has the ability to put mortals to sleep and appear in their dreams. To fall into Morpheus’ arms therefore means

to fall into a deep sleep. _LE MARCHAND DE SABLE EST PASSÉ_ (LITERALLY ‘THE SANDMAN HAS PASSED BY): This expression is used when somebody falls asleep. The Sandman is a mythical character in

European folklore, who puts people to sleep by sprinkling sand in their eyes. In the 17th Century, it was said that somebody had sand in their eyes (_avoir du sable dans les yeux_) to

express that they were so tired their eyes almost stung from fatigue. Thus, in French, the Sandman represents sleep or fatigue. There are several variations of the expression, including _le

marchand de sable passe_ (literally ‘the Sandman is passing by’, meaning someone is sleepy) and _le marchand de sable va passer_ (literally ‘the Sandman will come by’, meaning it is time to

go to sleep).