Not in DARE?

[Dennis R. Preston]

I have always associated "sleep" with said eye-boogers. Since you use
this odd collocation, it's perhaps interesting to note that many
languages have one word for eye-, nose, and even ear-boogers
(although ass-boogers are usually a separate lexical item), obviously
focusing on the formation of crud in small body cavities rather than
the substance of the formation. Whorf lives!

dInIs

>I've never associated the "sleep" in "wipe the sleep
>from your eyes" with sleep boogers or any physical
>substance; I have always considered it a figure of
>speech simply meaning "Wake up."
>--- Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>
>>  "Sleep" may well be a reification of the old phrase,
>>  "Rub the sleep from your eyes" = "to rub your eyes
>>  upon awakening."  It's what both my grandparents (b.
>>  NYC 1880s) called the stuff.  My wife's parents
>>  (N.Y. State) used "sleepers" from at least the
>>  1930's.
>>
>>  JL
>
>
>=====
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic,
        Asian and African Languages
Wells Hall A-740
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office: (517) 353-0740
Fax: (517) 432-2736