My old girlfriends family called the crust in the corner of your eyes in the morning " Sleepy Bugs ". I had never heard that term before, but liked it. I have since adopted it, and thought I would share it with you.
Hey Jack,
Made the mistake of saying "Hi Jack" once when I recognized an acquaintance at the airport. But that's another story.
I grew up in the Midwest, where we called the stuff simply "sleepers." I'm guessing this is a highly regional term. Where you from?
There's no "official" medical term for the stuff. Doctors just call it "eye discharge" and it's a natural protective mechanism to keep the eyes lubricated and free of infection. Sometimes here in AZ when there's a lot of dust in the air, and I have to spend time outside, my eyelids can be almost "glued shut" the next morning. A splash of water always gets rid of that.
As children, we used to call it sand, and that term went along with the legend of the sandman who caused children to go to sleep. Later in life I began calling it sleepers, always plural.
Heimhenge said:
I grew up in the Midwest, where we called the stuff simply "sleepers."
I'm from New York State, where we called the stuff, more simply, "sleep."
Edited to add:
John Stewart of the Kingston Trio wrote "Daydream Believer," a song recorded by the Monkees in 1967, which included the following:
Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings.
The six o'clock alarm would never ring,
But it rings and I rise wipe, the sleep out of my eyes
My shavin' razor's cold, and it stings.
