The Archive

Etymology Journal ยท H

Hit the hay

Meaning

A casual way of saying it is time to go to sleep. It is often used when you are feeling tired after a long day.

Cozy, relaxed

Used in a sentence

  • It has been a long day of chores, so I think I am going to hit the hay early.
  • You look exhausted, so why don't you hit the hay and we can finish this tomorrow?
  • I usually hit the hay by ten o'clock on weeknights.

The backstory

In the days before modern mattresses, people stuffed their bed ticks with straw or hay. Hitting the hay was literally jumping onto your makeshift bed.

Heard in

Nationwide

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