The Wall Street (1987) movie features the following line from Gordon Gekko (played by actor Michael Douglas) around 00:53:30 (YouTube):
My wife tells me you made a move on Darien. Here's some inside info for ya. That Euroflash GQ type she's going with? He's got big bucks, but he's putting her feet to sleep. Exit visas are imminent. I don't want you to lose your place in line.
I can roughly understand the idea from the context, but what exactly does the expression "to put one's feet to sleep" mean, and when it can be used?
Best Answer
When someone says a limb is "asleep", it means that the part is experiencing transient paresthesia caused by prolonged pressure on a nerve. Often sitting or sleeping in an unusual way will cause this problem.
In the scene, Gecko is telling Bud that Darien, a woman he is interesting in, is dating another man, but is bored by him (he is "putting her feet to sleep"), and so Bud still has a chance.
It's not really idiomatic, but then, Oliver Stone was never very good at writing dialog.