What does the phrase:
I slept late yesterday.
or
He sleeps late on Sundays.
mean?
0
asked Feb 3 '15 at 12:52
closed as off-topic by user3169, ʇolɐǝz ǝɥʇ qoq, pyobum, CRABOLO, user6951 Feb 10 '15 at 7:21
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Basic questions on spelling, meaning or pronunciation are off-topic as they should be answered using a dictionary. See: Policy for questions that are entirely answerable with a dictionary" – user3169, ʇolɐǝz ǝɥʇ qoq, pyobum, CRABOLO, Community
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2to sleep late - to sleep later than usual or customary; to sleep in. – CowperKettle Feb 3 '15 at 12:53
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@CopperKettle Googled it too. But would you say that in real-world conversation? – Denis Kulagin Feb 3 '15 at 12:54
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I guess I would, because I've just checked Google Books and there are instances of it being used. ("For example, when a student makes an error such as, ”I sleep late” (meaning ”I slept late”), the teacher can write the error and the correction on the blackboard for the student to see.") – CowperKettle Feb 3 '15 at 12:57
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.. and Google Ngram – CowperKettle Feb 3 '15 at 12:58
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3Absolutely colloquial, to sleep late, to sleep in. To sleep for a longer time than usual. To sleep late can imply you had things to do, but missed. To sleep in implies that you have the freedom to do so, i.e. no early morning tasks/meetings etc. – Tᴚoɯɐuo Feb 3 '15 at 13:47
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"To sleep late" means sleeping longer than usual, staying in bed longer than usual in the morning. It does not mean "go to bed later at night" or "stay up late".
answered Feb 3 '15 at 13:06
