Ne pas fermer l’œil de la nuit

Literally: To not close the eye of the night

Example: “Avec l'orage et le chien qui aboyait, je n'ai pas fermé l'œil de la nuit.” — With the storm and the barking dog, I didn't sleep a wink all night.

English equivalent: Not to sleep a wink

Origin: The eye closes only in sleep, so not closing it all night means not sleeping at all. The phrase is old: Littré quotes it from a late 17th-century comedy by Florent Dancourt, where a young man has not closed his eye all night and has done nothing but toss in his bed, and from Madame de Staël's novel Corinne (1807). The singular l'œil is the fixed form, though one also hears ne pas fermer les yeux.