Meaning of Idiom ‘Make Eyes At’
To make eyes at someone means to look at someone in a way that clearly shows you have sexual or romantic interest in them; to look at someone in a way that shows them you find them attractive; to make eye contact with someone in a flirtatious way. 1Ayto, John. [http://amzn.to/2vdGvI7 Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms]. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.,2Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008., 3Make Eyes At Someone, Collins Cobuild. Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary. HarperCollins, 2012.
Sentence Examples
“He was making eyes at me all night at dinner.”
“Stop making eyes at the nurses, Grandpa,” said Shirley. “You’re twice their age.”
“He’s always making eyes at the women at work. It’s really creepy.”
“That girl is making eyes at you. You should go ask for her number.”
“I have five sons. You make eyes at me like that, I make you pot roast.” One Fine Day (1996)
Origin
Much older versions of this idiom exist, such as ‘throw the eye at.’ This modern version first appeared in print in William Makepeace Thackeray’s book The History Henry Esmond, dated 1852:
“She used to make eyes at the Duke of Marlborough.”
More ‘Eye’ Idioms
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