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I'm trying to pinpoint the correct application of the verb "to bid" in order to use it in unconventional situations

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I bid you goodnight is the more idiomatic phrase. – coleopterist Feb 19 at 6:37
I think it's Too Localised, in that "I bid you farewell/goodnight/adieu/etc." is an archaic form that's effectively "non-productive" (you can't introduce different endings except facetiously). – FumbleFingers Feb 19 at 18:40

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2 Answers

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No, it would not. Bid and farewell collocate, but bid and sleep don't. In fact, bid with the meaning ‘say, utter, express’ isn't much used at all in contemporary English, other than with, perhaps, a sense of irony.

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Collocation of words reports what HAS been said (in conventional usage) whereas the questions asks what MIGHT be said (in unconventional siutations). Rather than "say", bid in this context carries connotations of "wish for you" as in I bid you godspeed. – Fortiter Feb 19 at 9:50
Quite. I doubt either of us have often (if ever) heard or used "I bid you farewell/goodnight/adieu/etc." except in at least "semi-facetious" contexts. Effectively, it's a "frozen" form. – FumbleFingers Feb 19 at 18:38
up vote 1 down vote

The definition you're looking for is this one:

bid: to express (a greeting, farewell, benediction, or wish): to bid good night.

So you can technically wish them anything you want:

I bid you (a) good night.

I bid you (to) sleep well.

I bid you welcome.

I bid you to please stop that incessant chattering.

In more practical terms, the use of "bid" in this fashion is outdated, and it is not often used except to sound old-fashioned, ironic, or excessively formal.

As coleopterist pointed out, the more idiomatic use of bid with regards to sleep is "I bid you good night."

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'I hope you get a good night's sleep,' or just 'Sleep well!' would be far more idiomatic, and get the intended sense of bid across. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 19 at 11:09
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@EdwinAshworth - I agree, but "I bid you sleep well" is not incorrect. – Lynn Feb 19 at 12:11

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