What is the origin of 'sleep tight'?
Read moreOne of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
noun
historical(in the US) a light four-wheeled carriage with two seats facing forwards.
- ‘Adam made sure his brother's tie was straight and his best coat was brushed, and Joe had polished up the surrey until it gleamed.’
- ‘You can walk around the downtown area to see the sights but another way of seeing the contrasts is from the seat of a horse-drawn surrey - with or without the fringe on top.’
- ‘Did he take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top?’
- ‘You can rent a surrey or even a Harley Davidson, or tour the Smuggler Mine, which gave up the world's largest silver nugget - 1840 pounds - back in 1894.’
- ‘Owing to a harsh winter and business overload in the spring, it had been close to four months since I'd been out to my country club, so you can imagine my surprise when I drove up and saw all the surreys with the fringe on top.’
Origin
Late 19th century: originally denoting a Surrey cart, first made in Surrey, from which the carriage was later adapted.
Pronunciation
proper noun
A county of south-eastern England; county town, Kingston upon Thames.
