- Zzz – snoring onomatopoeia.
- Zzz is commonly used in comics to indicate that someone is asleep.
- It has also become part of the catch multiple Z idiom, which means to sleep.
Ever wonder why people say they are going to catch multiple Zs when they want to sleep? Well, if you are into comics, you may already know the reason.
Table of Contents
The Meaning of Zzz
Zzz – snoring onomatopoeia. It was commonly used in the media where sound effects were not used, especially in comics. This is where his association with sleep comes from, although it’s not the only device used to indicate snoring.
It is unclear why zzz came to mean snoring. Henry David Thoreau was the first author to introduce non-vocal sounds with the letter Z, but he wrote about the sounds of crickets, not snoring.
How to Use Zzz
There are no hard and fast rules for using zzz. Someone may use capital letters, someone may use a capital letter as a regular word, and someone may use a capital Z. It’s hard to find a reason for using zzz in formal writing. Even the phrase “catch a few Zs” is more suitable for informal conversations than formal ones.
Examples
- From the parents’ room came a continuous stream of zzz.
- Did I tell you about yesterday’s dream? zzz …
- This article will have to wait until I catch a few Z’s.