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Andrew McAlindon
@andythehighlander

511,782 followers

Goodnight, sleep tight! I uploaded a different version of this at the start of the year that was removed - so it’s been re-edited and now here it is again :) The classic (and disputed) explanation behind the phrase ‘sleep tight’ relates to medieval rope-strung beds. These beds, instead of springs, used ropes that needed to be tied tightly under the mattress to keep it securely in place, hence the phrase ‘sleep tight’. As a passive-aggressive way to kick out guests who had outstayed their welcome, it was common for maids to loosen these ropes to make sleep more uncomfortable However, an alternative history of the phrase also exists - as it seems the phrase ‘sleep tight’ only first appeared in the mid-18th Century by writer Susan Bradford Eppes in her diary, by which point rope strung beds had long since left popularity. The use of ‘tight’ in ‘sleep tight’ to mean sleep well can be traced back to Shakespeare’s use of ‘tight’ to mean stable, secured and soundly. The use of ‘tight’ to mean ‘still’ or ‘snugly’, as we would recognise it from the phrase, appears in documents from the middle of the 18th Century – generally in reference to military garments or to sails – before being used as a standalone term at the turn of the 19th century in phrases such as ‘sit tight’. sources:dreams.co.uk, authorherstorianparent.blogspot.com,architecturaldigest.com #scotland #visitscotland #scottish #photography #history #travel #highlands #scottishhighlands #scotlandtravel #scotlandphotography #thisisscotland #hiddenscotland #scotlandexplore #instascotland #whisky #scotlandshots #meninkilts #kilt #outlander #scottishhighlands #bagpipes #highlander #glasgow #outlanderfilminglocation #outlanderfans #sassenach #highlandertours #andythehighlander #18thcentury #culross