Depth of sleep

Carol L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The "preferred" translation indicates that their son fell asleep "a poings fermes," indicating that he was deeply asleep. I dispute this -- kids may fall asleep with their fists closed, but not tightly unless they are under severe stress. I would suggest that a better indication of deep sleep would be the other suggestion - "il dormait profondement." This is from years of watching a number of sleeping children -- mine and others'. Just a thought....

This question relates to:French writing exercise "(Scary) Bedtime stories"

Freeform Writing Exercise B2

Asked 4 years ago

Like0Answer2

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Hi Carol,

dormir à poings fermés is an idiom meaning 'to be sound asleep' and hence resides above logic.

But I guess you knew that... ;)

Like14 years ago

Carol L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

That darned logic gets me every time!!

Like04 years ago

Carol L. asked:

Depth of sleep

The "preferred" translation indicates that their son fell asleep "a poings fermes," indicating that he was deeply asleep. I dispute this -- kids may fall asleep with their fists closed, but not tightly unless they are under severe stress. I would suggest that a better indication of deep sleep would be the other suggestion - "il dormait profondement." This is from years of watching a number of sleeping children -- mine and others'. Just a thought....

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