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Can the expression "let me sleep on it" be said in the early morning?

Puzzled-Bat-4677
Hi, I'm a English learner and I'd like to ask you all this question. Can the expression "let me sleep on it" be said in the early morning? ChatGPT said, "It's theoretically possible, but it can be awkward. Because \*\*"Let me sleep on it"\*\*" is usually an expression used at the end of the day, such as in the afternoon or evening. In other words, if you use this expression early in the morning, the listener may feel a little awkward, saying, "The day has just begun, and you're going to think about it until tomorrow already?" So glad to get to ask grammar questions here:D \++adding another question : Do I have to answer or make a decision the next day? Is it weird to say "let me sleep on it" and then say it on the same day?

21 comments

Smutteringplib•
Don't use ChatGPT for stuff like this. "Let me sleep on it" just means you want to think about a decision for a day. It can be said any time of day.
Interesting_Key333•
ChatGPT is surprisingly right here in that it is a bit awkward to say in the morning. An equivalent phrase that is always appropriate could be "let me think about it" or "give me a day to think on it".
Jealous_Airport_6594•
It’s a bit weird but it can be used. It just means to think about it
ComprehensiveCoat627•
I don't think it's at all awkward to say it in the morning. It's just another way of saying "I need some time to think about it, I'll get back to you tomorrow". It *would* be odd to say that and then give an answer the same day, though. Instead, you can say "I need some time to think about it, I'll get back to you later"
ContributionReal4017•
ChatGPT is right. Technically correct but usually used later in the day. Can you say it, and is it grammatically correct? Yes. Is it usually said early in the morning? No.
thenakesingularity10•
No it's fine, because everyone knows you are not talking about \*actually\* sleeping on it, but just thinking about it for a while. You could come back to the guy in the afternoon with a solution in all reality.
zebostoneleigh•
Yes. You can say you want to sleep on it at any time of the day you can either be figurative or literal. If someone offered me a job at 5 AM on a Tuesday, I could say, “You know what - I’ll let you know tomorrow. Let me sleep on it.” And that would give me time to think about the offer… And at some point before I saw them again I would actually indeed sleep on it .
FistOfFacepalm•
The point of the expression is that after a night of sleep you’ll wake up with a clearer head and a better ability to decide what you want to do. If you need a full night of sleep you need a full night of sleep, no matter how long it will be until you go to bed.
ursulawinchester•
Yes absolutely, it just means - to quote Meatloaf in Paradise by the Dashboard Light - “I’ll give you an answer in the morning.” Basically, it is said to delay an immediate response.
casualstrawberry•
"Let me sleep on it" implies that you want an extended time to make a decision, and that they shouldn't expect an answer today. So yes, you can say it at any time of the day. If however, you just want some time to think about it, then just say that, "Can you give me some time to think about it?" Or, "Please let me get back to you about that."
DazzlingClassic185•
Use ChatGPT at your peril, it will mislead you. It’s an idiom, meaning that you need done time to consider, so you can use it at whatever time of day you like!
benny-powers•
Yes.  It's not about time of day,  it's about the clarity a good night's sleep brings
The_Troyminator•
It just means “let me think about it.” It’s an idiom and not meant to be taken literally. I’ve seen people say it and get back an hour later.
OkManufacturer767•
Yes. It means you will have an answer for them tomorrow, regardless of time of day it is said.
brokebackzac•
If you overthink it yes, it is awkward. If you just know that it's an idiomatic phrase that just means "I need some time to think about this," it's fine to say at any time of day. It's also common to say "let me think on it" instead, which avoids the confusion entirely.
Existing_Charity_818•
For the first question: I’d say it’s fine to use it in early morning. Other comments explain the reasoning pretty well so I don’t have anything to add here For the second question: when you give your answer doesn’t really matter. Odds are, they‘ll have forgotten exactly how you phrased your answer within a couple hours and will really only remember “they wanted some time to think about it.” You can answer later that day or a few days later and no one will think twice about it. Ultimately, it’s a common idiom / figure of speech. It won’t be taken literally .
igotshadowbaned•
Don't use ChatGPT for learning English or asking what things mean. It's goal is to create a response that sounds like something someone would say, nothing regarding accuracy. If you said it early in the morning it would probably be at least slightly weirdly received. "Let me think on it" is another phrase that means pretty much the same thing that I think would be used more
AdCertain5057•
GPT is wrong on this one. The phrase is entirely figurative. What GPT says is like arguing that you can only talk about someone being on "cloud nine" when there are nine clouds in the sky.
Prestigious-Fan3122•
I'm in the US, a native English – speaker in my early 60s, and I don't think I've actually ever used the expression "let me sleep on it". I probably say "let me/I'm going to need to think about this, and I'll get back to you". I'm going to let me sleep on it." makes good sense. It's quite common to advise someone experiencing a conflict with another person, especially a relative, to write that personal letter, spelling out everything you want to say, put the letter in an envelope, and look at it again in a day or two, or longer before mailing it, if you ever mail it.(Or before hitting " send" on an email these days) Sometimes you need to "sleep on it"to approach your word/thoughts from a perspective,
lordlaharl422•
It's not too context sensitive in terms of the actual time of day, though it does somewhat imply you might get back to the issue the next day. If you wanted a similar phrase that doesn't seem as timing-specific you might try "Let's put a pin in that" if you're saying that a point someone else raised should be talked about later after a current issue is addressed, or "I'll mull it over" or "I'll give it some thought" if you don't have an answer to something but want to let the other person know that you're thinking about it. Just try to be mindful about how you use these, so you don't come off as though you're just ignoring a topic or trying to get out of talking about it.
Acrobatic_Fan_8183•
The time of day isn't really important, the meaning is "I need some time to think about it". That being said, it might be that saying "let me sleep on it" in the morning gives it a more emphatic meaning.