# Re: Why is the letter Z associated with sleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 27, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582 "2012-07-27T16:42:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/1 "2012-07-27T16:42:25Z")
In [today’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3063/why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep), The Master relates the following: > [@Cecil Adams](#): > > Ms. Adams tells me Z doesn’t adequately convey the experience, which she says is like hearing a drowning man being eaten by a squid. Considering that a realistic representation would be something like gasp-choke-grunt-chew-smack, I think we can agree a simple Z is good enough. My dad and I are American, we speak English, and when _he_ snores, it sounds like a wounded bear armed with a chainsaw trying to fight off a pack of wolves! I can _totally_ see the different sounds giving rise to varying onomatopoeias, especially in other cultures. My favorites are the different sounds animals (dogs, ducks, and pigs being some of the most interesting) make when written into comic form. Japanese manga and the European stories translated for _Heavy Metal_ magazine are an excellent source of such things if you’re as easily amused by this as I am. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/2 "2012-07-27T17:32:50Z")
I just have to say that Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye is a really hot comic ---
**Author:** ![davolente](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@davolente](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davolente)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/3 "2012-07-27T18:25:01Z")
In all my 63 years of Britishness I have never, EVER heard the phrase: “Catching some zeds”, as a term for sleeping, as mentioned in the article. I would be interested to know where _that_ was dug up from! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/4 "2012-07-27T18:30:48Z")
I believe it’s a riff on the Quarter Pounder with cheese line from Pulp Fiction. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/5 "2012-07-27T18:55:00Z")
Maybe collecting Rip Torn lines from _Men in Black?_ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/6 "2012-07-27T19:09:01Z")
> [@davolente](#): > > In all my 63 years of Britishness I have never, EVER heard the phrase: “Catching some zeds”, as a term for sleeping, as mentioned in the article. I would be interested to know where _that_ was dug up from! 😕 Cecil might have been whooshing you. In the U.S. we pronounce the letter Z like “zee” and not “zed”. We often say “catching some Z’s” (prononced “zees”) to imply we are going to sleep. Cecil might have been humorously pointing out the differences in the two pronunciations of the letter. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/7 "2012-07-27T19:24:19Z")
> [@davolente](#): > > In all my 63 years of Britishness I have never, EVER heard the phrase: “Catching some zeds”, as a term for sleeping, as mentioned in the article. I would be interested to know where _that_ was dug up from! 😕 The article will tell you the answer: [QUOTE=Cecil Adams] I get this from my assistant Fierra, who delightfully proclaims her Britishness every time she opens her mouth. [/QUOTE] **Fierra** , British citizen born and bred, has heard people refer to it as “catching some zeds.” I’ve also heard it in the UK, rarely. She didn’t tell **Cecil** it was the most common use, just that she’s heard it such, so **Cecil** is having a bit of fun there. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/8 "2012-07-27T21:45:33Z")
I hear it occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![goddessodd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@goddessodd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goddessodd)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/9 "2012-07-28T03:32:24Z")
I, for one, LIKE the sound of “catching some A’s”, and plan to start using it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/10 "2012-07-28T03:57:02Z")
I think the Z fits the idea of sawing lumber–at least with a chainsaw. The motors of such always have that sibilance. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/11 "2012-07-28T04:01:45Z")
I invented a mythical creature called the Winkertoo. Sleeping is the only means of catching this prized beast. I’ve also heard the term: sawing logs. Catching a few Zs has always seemed like one of those backwards idioms to me, since they are obviously escaping. Freeing some Zs has a nice ring to it, but I won’t lose any sleep if it doesn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/12 "2012-07-28T04:32:31Z")
Great column - and congrats to **Una** and **Samclem** for their contributions. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/13 "2012-07-28T10:33:57Z")
I too have never heard ‘catching some zeds’ (Englishman in my 60s) and I think for pretty obvious reasons. Catching some zs is an American phrase, it isn’t normally heard in the UK. Clearly there would be exceptions and the z may well become zed when used by a Britisher. But IMHO it would be by a Britisher with no ear for these things. _Zeeees_ as a sound conveys rather well the idea of sleeping, _zeds_ falls with a dull clunk on the ear and destroys the effect of the original. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/14 "2012-07-28T11:06:01Z")
I say “catch some Z(ed)s” quite often, and I’ve never had anyone think it’s an odd turn of phrase. ---
**Author:** ![goddessodd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@goddessodd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goddessodd)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/15 "2012-07-28T12:01:35Z")
I disagree with the chainsaw theory. “sawing logs” is a pretty accurate approximation of the sound, the rhythmic push/pull of the saw corresponding with the inspiration/expiration cycle. To my ear, the sound a hand saw makes going through a board is close to ZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZZ, and it is how I would represent that sound, so catching some ZZZZs makes perfect sense to me. I do agree that the ZZZZs in question ARE in fact escaping and not being caught, so I plan to start using “free some ZZZZs” along with “catch some AAAAs” . . . but then I have always been eccentric. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/16 "2012-07-28T12:53:01Z")
I’ve heard Aussies say, “catching some zeds.” I currently live in China, and I’ve seen highway safety signs where “zzzz” is used to depict sleeping. If there are other signs using “hu lu” sounds depicting sleeping, I wouldn’t recognize it because I can’t read Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/17 "2012-07-28T13:07:16Z")
I want to change the spelling to _zleepy_. I’ll get a head start now on my anti-gno friends. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/18 "2012-07-28T18:17:23Z")
I suppose the “catch some Zs” phrase refers to the urgency of sleep. There’s a limited amount of snoring that can be done before the day’s activities, so each moment spent awake is a Z not caught (or emitted). I thought “get some shuteye” may have preceded it, but according to the urban dictionary it only became popular after the third Naked Gun film. As for animal noises, I like “[nyan nyan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ8w4vVaOL8)” for the noise cats make. I’m unaware of other ones though. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/19 "2012-07-28T19:26:55Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > I thought “get some shuteye” may have preceded it, but according to the urban dictionary it only became popular after the third Naked Gun film. I suspect I’m being whoosed here, but [shut-eye](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=shut-eye&searchmode=none) is known from 1899. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582/20 "2012-07-28T22:51:32Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > I suppose the “catch some Zs” phrase refers to the urgency of sleep… I more often hear “bag some Zs” or “grab some Zs.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-the-letter-z-associated-with-sleep/629582.md?page=2)