Idiom
Hit the hay
To hit the hay means to go to bed or go to sleep.
How people use it
It is a casual, friendly way to say you are heading to bed, usually because you are tired: "I'm beat, so I'm going to hit the hay." Hit the sack means the same thing. The verb hit suggests flopping into bed at the end of a long day, not anything rough. It is informal, so in formal writing just say go to bed. People rarely use it for a short nap; for that, they say take a nap or catch some sleep.
Examples
- We have to leave for the airport at five, so let's hit the hay early tonight.
- After a long day of hiking, Leo hit the hay before nine.
- I'd love to watch another episode, but I really need to hit the hay.
Where it comes from
In earlier centuries many mattresses were cloth sacks stuffed with hay or straw, so going to bed meant lying down on hay. The phrase is American and is recorded from the early 1900s. Hit the sack, a close cousin, became common a little later and points to the same kind of mattress.
Check yourself
1. If your dad says he's going to hit the hay, what is he doing?
Answer: Going to bed. Hit the hay is an informal way to say go to sleep.
2. Which idiom means the same as hit the hay?
Answer: Hit the sack. Hit the sack also means go to bed; hit the road means leave, and hit the books means study.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in HAY.