Dormir sur ses deux oreilles

Expression: Dormir sur ses deux oreilles

Pronunciation: [duhr meer sur say deu zuh ray]

Meaning: to sleep like a baby, to rest easy

Literal translation: to sleep on one's two ears

Register: normal

Notes: The French expression dormir sur ses deux oreilles offers some great mental images: a head sandwiched between bed and pillow, a mattress curled up so that it's pressing against both ears, maybe even an abnormal head with ears reaching for the bed. Any way you look at it, dormir sur ses deux oreilles can be used literally or figuratively to indicate that one is sleeping soundly, with nothing to worry about and no inherent danger.

Examples

   Je prends une tisane le soir, et je dors toujours sur mes deux oreilles.
   I have herbal tea in the evening, and always sleep like a baby.

   Il n'y a aucun danger - elle peut dormir sur ses deux oreilles.
   There's no danger - she can rest easy.

Antonym: Dormir sur ses deux oreilles is pretty much the opposite of ne dormir que d'un œil - to sleep with one eye open.

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More

• Dormir conjugations
• Expressions with sur
• Parts of the body
• Most common French phrases