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The phrase “land of Nod” is used to describe falling asleep, but it has a dark history in the Old Testament as the place where Cain was banished after killing his brother. The phrase has been used in literature and music, but its negative origins are not fully understood. Understanding idioms like this can improve communication and understanding.
People nod in agreement, but a secondary use of the word describes falling asleep. A child in the land of Nod is for all intents and purposes sound asleep, though that little head might fight the sleep with gentle nods from time to time.
The phrase itself is both charming and mysterious enough to have made it into storybooks and children’s songs, as well as a famous Robert Louis Stevenson poem of the same title. Eugene Field’s poem “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” has been set to music by a wide variety of artists, including Donovan and the Doobie Brothers.
This magical dreamland might seem like a sweet and safe world, but it has a dark history. This idiom dates back to the Old Testament. References to Nod are found in the Book of Genesis. It is specifically located east of Eden.
According to the passage of Genesis 4:16, the land of Nod became the home of Cain after he killed his brother Able. God forbade Cain to nod. The fact that it is geographically located east of Eden, a world where all things are made for man and there is no misery, indicates that Cain was banished from a more comfortable world to one in which he would suffer.
It is not known how this negative reference turned into a positive one. Loving parents would not create fairy tales and bedtime stories containing this reference if they meant the original land of Nod. Whether the earth referred to in the idiom developed from the biblical reference or arose on its own, these words have been associated with falling asleep.
English is a language rich in idioms. In everyday communication, in the professional arena, and even in literature and academia, idioms are used to express complex ideas in a handful of words. New idioms enter the language stream as speakers hear and use them, and older idioms can fall into obscurity as fewer and fewer users refer to them. Some, however, remain, even as their obvious meanings fade.
English speakers who understand the meanings behind the thousands of English idioms are able to express themselves better and understand others. Often, idioms are easily understood, even to those who have never heard them before. More obscure idioms, such as the land of Nod, must be understood in context or explained.
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