"Hit the Sack" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 2020-07-11

0:00 - How to Say, “Hit the sack…”
0:15 - Examples of “Hit the sack…”
0:40 - Meaning of “Hit the sack…”
0:52 - Origin of “Hit the sack…”
3:06 - More Examples of “Hit the sack…”
3:33 - Conclusion

“Hit the sack…”

You might’ve heard one of your roommates say that they wanted to “hit the sack”, after a long and tiring day.

“It’s past midnight, time to hit the sack,” your sister might tell you as she heads back to her bedroom.

Maybe you’re at a slumber party and you say to everyone, “You guys can stay up if you want, but I’m tired… I’m going to hit the sack.”

As you can see, “hit the sack,” means nothing more than going to bed and it’s easy to imagine why.

Picture life in centuries past, where mattresses were nothing more than large bags - or sacks - stuffed full of hay, the kind cows and horses eat.

When you went to bed, you would hit the sack with your hand to fluff up the hay within, to make it more comfortable before laying down.

You could also say, “hit the hay,” instead of “hit the sack,” which is almost exactly the same idiom, with the same meaning.

Another idiom might be heard when someone wants to go to bed, “I’m going to turn in now, it’s late!”

The idiom, “turn in,” is also commonly used in lieu of “go to bed” or “hit the sack”, but it seems not to make logical sense.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the reason why “turn in” means to go to bed is because sleeping quarters for sailors hundreds of years ago were really tight, with little head room above hammock-type beds…

… thus, if a sailor wanted to sleep, he’d have to turn his body into the hammock in order to get in. He could not simply just get in and then lie down.

“Hit the sack” naturally makes more sense than “turn in”, from both an historical perspective and a modern one - both are easily understood, however.

“Should we hit the sack soon? It’s already very dark,” your friends might say while on a camping trip.

Maybe you’ve spent the whole day hiking and have just finished, “I’m looking forward to getting back to camp and hitting the sack!”

So, if you’re tired out and are desperate to get to bed, telling others that you want to “hit the sack” is the perfect way to say it.

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