The term Knocker-Upper puts me in my mind of my 21 year old son, Tom. Not because he is the sire of numerous progeny but because of his sound sleeping. Tom would sleep through a nuclear explosion, which makes his morning rising a somewhat traumatic event within the domestic circle. Tom sets his alarm at half hourly intervals, commencing at 6.30am. The problem is that he does not hear it going off, although everyone else in the house does. The longer it goes without being answered, the progressively louder it bcomes. This gives rise to such shouts as “Thomas, sweetie, your alarm is going off” or “Goodness, what an annoying alarm.” What he needs is a Knocker-Upper.
From Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker-up
