You can catch a couple of hours' sleep

[shootingstar]

. . .
DR. GIBBS arrives at his back door and passes through the trellis into his house.

MRS. GIBBS: Everything all right, Frank?
DR. GIBBS: Yes. I declare - easy as kittens.
MRS. GIBBS: Bacon 'll be ready in a minute. Set down and drink your coffee.
You can catch a couple hours' sleep this morning, cant you?
DR. GIBBS: Hm! . . . Mrs. Wentworth's coming at eleven. Guess I know
what it's about, too. Her stummick ain't what it ought to be.
. . .
(Thornton Wilder, Our Town, Act I)

What does catch mean there? I know the phrase catch up on one's sleep, but this is different. There must be a difference in meaning in my opinion.

 

[5jj]

If you catch something, you manage to get hold of it. Clearly you don't literally get hold of an amount of sleep, but I think the idea is clear enough.

 

[SoothingDave]

A related idiom is to catch a few winks.

https://edmontonenglishschool-learn...expressions-catch-a-few-winks-catch-40-winks/

 

[Barque]

You can catch a couple hours' sleep this morning,

It implies that he'll just about have time for a couple of hours' sleep before he has to get back to work. It sounds as if he's been up the whole night.