No pegar ojo

not to sleep a wink; **not to sleep a wink**; **not to get a wink of sleep**; **to be awake all night**; **to get no sleep at all**

No pegar ojo means not to sleep at all, or to sleep so little that it feels as though no real rest has been achieved.

The idiom is usually associated with anxiety, excitement, illness, stress or physical discomfort.

Someone may no pegar ojo before a job interview, the night before an important exam, after receiving worrying news or because of excessive noise.

Occasionally, the expression is used with slight exaggeration after a poor night's sleep, even if the speaker actually managed to sleep for a short time.

Like many Spanish idioms, it often favours expressive effect over strict literal accuracy.

• cannot fall asleep
• sleeps very badly
• spends the night awake because of stress
• is too excited or worried to sleep
• feels exhausted after a sleepless night

The metaphor appears to arise from the idea of the eyelids sticking together during sleep.

When someone remains awake, the eyes never fully close.

As a result, the eyelids never seem to "meet" or "stick" together.

Over time, this physical image developed into a fixed idiom meaning complete inability to sleep.

Its unusual wording has helped preserve its popularity for centuries.

Spanish speakers frequently use this idiom with a touch of exaggeration.

Someone who says:

No he pegado ojo.

may not mean they literally remained awake every minute of the night.

Instead, they usually mean that they slept very poorly and still feel tired.

This type of expressive exaggeration is common in colloquial Spanish and contributes to the warmth and liveliness of everyday conversation.

Many languages have surprisingly creative ways of describing insomnia.

English says "not to sleep a wink."

Spanish says "no pegar ojo."

Although the metaphors are completely different, both expressions are among the most common everyday idioms in their respective languages and are instantly understood by native speakers.

This is one of the easiest Spanish idioms to translate because English has an almost perfect equivalent.

In nearly every context, not to sleep a wink reproduces both the meaning and the natural tone of the Spanish expression.

Avoid translating it literally as "not to glue an eye."

Although the image is memorable, it is purely idiomatic and has no equivalent in English.

Learning this expression will immediately improve your understanding of spoken Spanish, as it appears constantly in conversations about work, health, travel and family life.