?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 189 To ȝein slauwe & sleperes is swiðe opene his earliche ariste from deaðe to liue.

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 319 Ho-so hath of þe watere mest, he schal beo.. gret slepare and slovȝ þar-to.

c1386 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 71 Ye been a verray sleper, fy for shame!

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 197 Cesarius tellis of ane olde monk þat was a grete sleper.

a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 229 Heuy ey-liddys tokenyth good slepere.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xiii^v The protectour came in emong theim about nyne of y^e clocke,..saiyng merely that he had been a sleper that daye.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Regnard Morning sleepers seldome thriue.

1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra ii. vii. §39 He must be no great Eater, Drinker, Sleeper... He must discipline his Senses, and exert his Mind.

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxii. 203 The sound of ineffectual knocking at the doors of heavy sleepers.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxx. 262 Being a great sleeper, and fond of his bed.

1897 T. Watts-Dunton Aylwin xv. i I was always a sound sleeper.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 441 Whan he thynketh leste, he may happe to be taken sleper.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. B He bids thee to him send..A fit false dreame, that can delude the sleepers sent.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 49 Graues at my command Haue wak'd their sleepers . View more context for this quotation

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. x. 30 Hearke the Drummes demurely wake the sleepers . View more context for this quotation

1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. x. 667 Full endlong from the roof the sleeper fell.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xvi. 639 Before the early dawn of midsummer, the sleepers were roused by the peal of trumpets.

1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. viii. 200 To place themselves at such a distance from the sleeper that their low words could hardly disturb her.

1827 Jeffrey Let. xcvii, in Ld. Cockburn Life I shall come back to you like one of the sleepers awaked.

1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. x. 518 By his orders the tomb of the holy sleepers at Ephesos were opened.

1901 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 385 If..a director can be treated as a purely sleeping partner, it can do that company no harm that..the sleeper, on becoming a Minister, should cease to be a director.

1983 ‘W. Haggard’ Heirloom xi. 122 I might fix that. At a price... No consortium takes in a sleeper for nothing.

1955 H. Roth Sleeper ix. 66 Hollister.. was a sleeper—a member of the Communist Party whose whole life was dedicated to the one big moment.

1963 J. Joesten They call it Intelligence i. iv. 45 A ‘sleeper’ is an agent planted in a strategic place for a specific purpose only.

1966 M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xxv. 187 Bought, or brainwashed? Or had he been a sleeper for years, waiting for just this job?

1975 Daily Mail 16 Aug. 2/1 They had been responsible for a year-long campaign of bombings in the city... When police cleaned up the cell, the IRA activated a reserve unit of ‘sleepers’.

1976 Times 7 June 12/5 There almost certainly exists within our political establishment, what is known as a ‘sleeper’—a high level political figure who is in fact a Soviet agent, infiltrated into the system many years ago.

1981 Observer 29 Mar. 15 Key members of the..Committee concluded that only the existence of a ‘mole’ or ‘sleeper’ (the preferred ‘trade’ word) could explain the many leaks and failures of the 1950s and 1960s.

1693 J. Ray Synopsis Animalium Quadrupedum 220 Mus Avellanarum Minor... The Dormouse or Sleeper. [Hence in Chambers, Pennant, etc.]

1804 C. Smith Conversations I. 74 To make you ample amends, and add a little sleeper, as the country people call it, to your collection of minor poetry.

1827 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom V. 221 Dormouse or Sleeper.

1880 E. G. O'Reilly Sussex Stories I. 4 Ralph the woodman had brought home a nest of ‘sleepers’.

1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 135 Excætus..Adonis; the Sleeper.

1854 Eng. Cycl., Nat. Hist. I. 502 E[leotris] dormatrix, the Sleeper, is a large fish. It is found in the West Indian marshes.

1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 15 Somniosus microcephalus, Sleeper Shark; Nurse.

1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 631 Eleotris gyrinus,..Sleeper.

1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 632 Dormitator maculatus, Sleeper.

1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 675 The Nurse Shark or Sleeper.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 319 Let Penall Lawes, if they haue beene Sleepers of long,..be by Wise Iudges confined in the Execution.

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 360 Sleeper, the dead stub of a tree, in a bank, etc.

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 245 Sleepers,..such grains of barley as do not vegetate whilst undergoing the process of malting.

1856 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 4 Dec. 2/2 Some were waiting for ‘sleepers’, others were telling some other betters a certain card was going to win, dead ‘sure’.

1864 W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle 208 A bet [in faro] is said to be a sleeper, when the owner has forgotten it, when it becomes public property, any one having a right to take it.

1897 R. F. Foster Compl. Hoyle 623 Sleeper, a bet left or placed on a dead card at Faro.

1939 P. A. Rollins Gone Haywire 16 A Dakota miner had been detected attempting to steal ‘sleepers’ from the faro table.

1944 D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte (1946) vi. 107 A most obnoxious character..tries to claim the deuce as a sleeper and gets the heave-o from Nathan Detroit.

1926 Publishers' Weekly 10 July 117 ‘Sleepers’ or ‘Fast Sellers’—the Cover Often Decides!

1875 Chicago Tribune 11 Sept. 3/2 Every item of wood, iron, or upholstery which enters into the make-up..of a Pullman sleeper is Selected with Skilled Care.

1880 W. Whitman Daybks. & Notebks. (1978) I. 188 On a first-class sleeper.

1881 ‘M. Twain’ Speeches (1910) 258 I..must change cars there and take the sleeper train.

1882 G. A. Sala Amer. Revisited II. 2 The Cerberus of the ‘sleeper’ is always bringing you the wrong boots.

1892 W. D. Howells Mercy 214 He recalled the long, all-night ride without a sleeper, which he had once made on that route.

1950 O. S. Nock Brit. Locomotives vi. 118 The run with No. 46235 on the Inverness ‘sleeper’..shows how great sometimes is the gulf between maximum locomotive capacity under ideal conditions and practical application on the road.

1952 ‘J. Tey’ Singing Sands iv. 62 A friend who came across him on the train. Saw his name on the sleeper list, or noticed him in passing.

1967 O. Wynd Walk Softly vii. 106 ‘You've got a sleeper reservation?’ ‘No, I was going to sit up.’ ‘All right... How about the eleven o'clock express.’

1969 M. Pugh Last Place Left xxi. 164 He made out sleeper tickets for us..and we shared a two-berth compartment.

1970 R. Adam Stalk to Kill xi. 158 A restless night in the sleeper train from London.

1979 P. Theroux Old Patagonian Express iv. 53 I was glad to be on this sleeper to the coast.

1939 National Geographic Mag. Feb. 133/2 Their covered wagons are now shiny streamliners (40 hours from Chicago), or mammoth sleeper buses (which they still call ‘stages’).

1951 Amer. Speech 26 308/2 Sleeper, any truck or tractor that is equipped with a sleeping berth.

1969 Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 9/7 Mr Ferrier plans to buy a sleeper-van and, with his wife, spend the next 18 months travelling around Australia.

1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 146 Sleeper cab, a tractor in which an adjoining bunk area is located behind the driver's seat.

1976 Eastern Daily Press (Norwich) 19 Nov. 14/2 (advt.) Scania 32-ton tractor, sleeper cab.

1893 O. Wister Jrnl. 31 Dec. (1958) 198 Sleeper, a cow with earmark and no brand.

1918 C. E. Mulford Man from Bar-20 xii. 117 Nope; it's a sleeper. Somebody's took th' trouble to cut th' notch [in its ear].

1933 J. V. Allen Cowboy Lore i. 12 A sleeper is a calf ear-marked by a cattle thief who intends to come back later and steal the animal.

1949 Boston Sunday Globe 1 May (Fiction Mag.) 2/1 He..gave a tally of the sleepers and mavericks he had branded.

1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 215 Sleepers, sb. pl., fine, small rings of gold, first put into the ears after boring, and afterwards worn whenever the larger ear-rings, or ‘droppers’, are inconvenient. Their use is to prevent the closing of the perforations of the lobes.

1959 News Chron. 6 Oct. 6/2 That ghastly business of turning sleepers in a fresh and often painful wound.

1971 R. Scott Wedding Man i. 38 Even quite small girls had had their ears pierced... No one wore sleepers, but the ear-rings could be taken out and the holes plugged with tiny pieces of wood.

1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) vii. 293 Substituting for her great hoop earrings little sleepers of agate.

1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 12 Oct. 7/1 (advt.) Children's sleepers at $1.95 a suit. Made of strong quality flanelette in neat colored stripe.

1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 23/1 (advt.) Minute imperfections should not affect wear, appearance or comfort of these cosy sleepers.

1973 C. Himes Black on Black 247 Norma sat on the side of the bed and helped Lucy into her sleepers.

1975 Daily Tel. 14 Feb. 15/3 (caption) Lucy is in her Mothercare sleeper with vinyl feet.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §251/1 Sleepers, particles in the eyes after a sound sleep.

1944 H. Croome You've gone Astray i. 9 He had sleepers in his eyes, ugh!

1961 F. J. Rigney & L. D. Smith Real Bohemia p. xvii Sleepers, barbiturates (sedatives), usually seconal, nembutal, amytal, etc.

1967 M. M. Glatt et al. Drug Scene in Great Brit. vii. 91 A lot of addicts are taking liquid Methedrine with ‘sleepers’ now—it is getting worse.

1979 C. Dale Helping with Inquiries i. 11 Take a sleeper, I would, put yourself right out.

1607 G. Markham Cavelarice v. 3 All along as your sleepers lye to which you pinne downe the boardes, must a Trench or sincke bee digged.

1675 V. Alsop Anti-Sozzo 356 Had he used only Sycamores, they had never been turned into Cedars by being Sleepers in the wall.

1717 in Trans. Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archæol. Soc. 3 199 For binding y^e sleepers about y^e eastermost pillar, 0.3.0.

1794 T. Davis Gen. View Agric. Wilts. 97 The..material for barn-floors in this district is, two-inch oak plank, laid on oak sleepers.

1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 47 In this way floors are made more secure, and freer from damps, than where they are nailed down to sleepers.

1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 146 The sleepers and joists which bear on the walls should be shored up, so that..the partial fall of the walls may not of necessity be followed, by that of the several floors.

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 79/2 The heads of the piles are cut off at one level; sleepers are laid across and fastened to them.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 450/1 Sleepers [are] the two out pieces of the Dormant, which carrieth the Roof to overseil the Gable end, to secure it from Weather.

1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 166 Hips and Sleepers, are almost the same; only the Sleepers lie in the Vallies.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. App. Sleeper, in building, a name used for the oblique rafter that lies in a gutter.

1811 J. Parkins Young Man's Best Compan. 137 In sawing bevil work, as hipps, sleepers, &c.

1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1049 The old writers called the valley rafters sleepers.]

1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 9 For clamps, middle bands and sleepers, they be all of 6. inch planke for binding within.

1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 3 The sleepers run before and after on each side the keeleson, on the floore well bolted to the Foot-hookes.

1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor 153 Sleepers are commonly three Strakes of Foot Waaling thicker than the rest, wrought over the Wrung~heads.

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Sleepers, a name formerly given by shipwrights to the thick-stuff placed longitudinally in a ship's hold, opposite to the several scarfs of the timbers. It is now properly applied to the knees, which connect the transoms to the after-timbers on the ship's quarter.

1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 285 Sleepers, or Engine-bearers,..pieces of timber placed between the keelson or keelson-riders in a steam ship, and the boilers of the steam-engine to form a proper seat for the boilers and machinery.

1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 148 Sleepers, pieces of compass timber fayed and bolted upon the transoms and timbers adjoining, withinside, to strengthen the buttock of the ship.

1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 631 Sleepers..are particularly used in Greenland ships, to strengthen the bows and stern-frame.

c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 76 The whole tops have the crosstrees, tops, and sleepers, bolted and secured before sending aloft.

1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 8 Sleepers.—Two cross-pieces over the top, to secure it down to the crosstrees and trestletrees.

1688 J. S. Fortification 69 Platforms..where Timber and Wood is reasonable, are all made of Plank and Sleepers [and] Joyces to lay them upon.

1702 Mil. Dict. at Battery It is laid with Planks and Sleepers for them [sc. the cannon] to rest on.

1794 Ld. Nelson Let. 9 July in Dispatches & Lett. (1844) I. 431 If sleepers can be got, the platforms are undoubtedly much the better for them.

1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Platform Planks of oak or elm..nailed or pinned on..beams, from 4 to 7 inches square, called sleepers.

1879 Man. Siege & Garrison Artillery Exercises 82 Where sleepers are used,..the five sleepers are laid at right angles to the hurter.

1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 687 (note) After the road is formed, pieces of timber,..called sleepers, are laid across it... Upon these sleepers other pieces of timber, called rails,..are laid.

1798 Term Rep. VII. 599 To the sleepers or dormant timbers they affixed railways or waggon ways.

1837 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 1/1 (Railways) The rails are..fixed in cast-iron chairs,..which are spiked down to the sleepers.

1837 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 2/1 Longitudinal timber sleepers.

1862 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 216 The pony roads..are laid with sleepers, on which rails are placed for the corves to travel over.

1889 G. Findlay Working & Managem. Eng. Railway 46 The permanent way consists of wooden sleepers, laid transversely.

1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers II. ii. 24 A little bridge, formed of round logs laid loosely on sleepers of pine.

1841 R. W. Emerson Spiritual Laws in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 163 One piece of the tree is cut for a weathercock, and one for the sleeper of a bridge.

1849 A. H. Layard Nineveh & Remains II. i. xiii. 80 These were placed upon sleepers, or half beams,..laid on the ground parallel to the sculpture.

1879 Man. Siege & Garrison Artillery Exercises 407 Skids should be supported on soft ground by laying sleepers of planks or fascines for them to rest on.