1
general::
Phrase(s): put someone to sleep
1. to bore someone. • That dull lecture put me to sleep. • Her long story just put me to sleep. 2. Go to put someone or an animal to sleep., Phrase(s): put someone or an animal to sleep
1. to cause someone or an animal to sleep, perhaps through drugs or anesthesia. • The doctor put the patient to sleep before the operation. • I put the cat to sleep by stroking its tummy. 2. Euph. to kill someone or an animal. • We had to put our dog to sleep. • The robber said he’d put us to sleep forever if we didn’t cooperate.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. Bore utterly, as in That show put me to sleep. This hyperbolic term implies that something is so dull one could fall asleep. 2. Kill, especially as a kindness, as in We had to put the cat to sleep. This euphemism dates from the mid-1900s. 3. Subject to anesthesia, as in This injection will put you to sleep so you won't feel any pain.
American Heritage Idioms