Meaning & Analysis
A colloquial or slang expression meaning that a person is in bed, asleep, or resting. The 'cloth market' is a metaphorical reference to the sheets, blankets, and linens of a bed.
Insights
Euphemism for Sleep
The proverb functions as a witty euphemism for sleeping or being in bed. It substitutes a direct statement with a figurative phrase, adding a layer of humor and indirectness to the observation.
Public vs. Private Sphere
The phrase creates a humorous contrast between the public, bustling world of commerce (a 'market') and the private, intimate space of the bedroom. This juxtaposition highlights the seclusion of the person who is resting.
Material Comfort
By calling the bed a 'cloth market', the proverb emphasizes the material comforts of the bed itself—the sheets, quilts, and pillows. It frames the act of resting as an indulgence in comfortable textiles.
Historical Wit and Slang
This proverb is a piece of 17th and 18th-century slang, as evidenced by its inclusion in Ray's collection and its use by Jonathan Swift. It reflects a cultural penchant for witty, figurative language to describe everyday life, transforming the mundane act of sleeping into a clever social observation.
Economic Metaphor for Domesticity
The use of an economic term ('market') for a domestic space ('bed') creates a humorous juxtaposition. In an era of expanding commerce, this metaphor playfully frames rest and comfort as a form of trade, where one 'deals' in the 'cloth' of sheets and blankets.
Psychology of Euphemism
Using a euphemism for being in bed speaks to social decorum regarding privacy. The phrase allows one to refer to a private state in a public or polite conversation without being too direct, cloaking the simple reality in a layer of cleverness.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The entire phrase is a metaphor, comparing a bed and its linens to a marketplace for textiles.
Euphemism
The proverb is a classic example of a euphemism, using indirect and figurative language to refer to the private act of being in bed.
Irony
A gentle irony arises from applying a term for a busy, public space ('market') to the quiet, private act of sleeping.
Synecdoche
The word 'cloth' is used as a form of synecdoche, where the material of the bedsheets stands in for the entire bed.
Transcription
Quotations
*In bed.
I hope your early rising will do you no harm. I find you are but just come out of the cloth market.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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