In Avi's Crispin and the Cross of Lead, a young boy must flee the only village he's ever known to save his life. After Crispin's mother dies, the corrupt Steward of the Manor, John Aycliffe, accuses Crispin of thievery and declares that anyone may kill him on sight. Crispin runs away and on his journey meets a man called Bear. Bear takes Crispin under his wing and teaches him some of the arts of being a bard, and together they travel to the town of Great Wexley. Even though there is a festival going on, Crispin and Bear take great efforts not to be noticed. When Crispin visits the cathedral, he sees none other than John Aycliffe praying there. He runs away and has to fight off several of Aycliffe's men before he is able to return safely to the tavern.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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