# How did "zzzzz" come to mean snoring in cartoons, comics, etc.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509 "2005-12-28T23:01:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/1 "2005-12-28T23:01:25Z")
A thing I’ve never understood is how ‘Z’ came to be a symbol for sleep, or, especially, snoring. There just doesn’t seem to be any connection. Most comic book ‘sounds’ at least try to be based on the actual sound…think of words like ‘blam’, ‘zap’, or ‘bang’. But ‘Z’? Where did that come from? When was it first used that way? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/2 "2005-12-28T23:32:13Z")
Some people think that snoring sounds like the nose made by sawing logs. This symbol was also commonly used for snoring. The “zzzzz” noise sounds a nit like sawing, not so much like snoring. This is only anecdotal info. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/3 "2005-12-29T00:56:52Z")
catching some "z"s = sleep. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/4 "2005-12-29T01:01:16Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > catching some "z"s = sleep. Which comes from the former. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/5 "2005-12-29T01:24:23Z")
There is another factor working in the equation. Cartoonist have a dilema, and that is how to convey a sound to a reader. Consider the old, “All in the Family,” Archie Bunker Rasberry. Now try to spell that. This is not a cartoon, I am not a cartoonist, and quite a few people are not going to know what sound I am discussing at this moment. If cartoonist do not know how to convey a sound, they may use adjectives to describe what is happening in a bubble, like ,“Crash,” or “Wham” but the actuall sound of that crash or wham is very difficult to convey. The snoring sound, though we all have heard it, is difficult to spell properly. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-zzzzz-come-to-mean-snoring-in-cartoons-comics-etc/337509/6 "2005-12-29T02:23:27Z")
chonnnnngk! chonnnnngk!