Out of the Corner of One’s Eye

The ‘corner of your eye, in this idiom, refers to the outer or lateral part of the eye where the upper and lower eyelids meet. This is medically referred to as the lateral canthus. When you see something “rom the corner of your eye,” you see it with your peripheral, or side vision. Since humans do not have a very wild field of vision, your peripheral vision is limited and not very clear, which explains the allusion in this idiom.

Also used:
from the corner of one’s eye
catch someone out of/from the corner of one’s eye

Meaning of Idiom ‘Out of the Corner of One’s Eye’

If you see something out of the corner of your eye, you see it unclearly, off to the side with your peripheral vision; to glance at something briefly or surreptitiously by looking sideways at it instead of straight ahead; to not see something clearly. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,2Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.,3Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.

Sentence Examples

“Was that a coyote?” “I don’t know. It may have been a fox. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye.”

“I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. It may have been a bear!”

“I saw the shoplifter from the corner of my eye just as he was running out the door.”

“The witness couldn’t describe the suspect to the police since she only saw him from the corner of her eye.”

“The driver had stopped. I don’t know what was wrong with him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of light in the bushes.” — JFK (1991)

“When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone…” — Pink Floyd The Wall, Comfortably Numb (1982)

“Hey, there she is!” “Where?” “I saw her out of the corner of your eye.” — Innerspace (1987)

“I wanted to meet you. Don’t tell me you didn’t see me looking at you out of the corner of my eye when Kitty Haynes is doing her nightclub number.” — The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

“I peeked out of the corner of my eye and caught Madame Tetrallini giving us the once-over.” — Freaks (1932)

“Haven’t you noticed how nothing in the house moves till you look away and then you just catch something out of the corner of your eye?” — The Haunting (1963)

“I got this one guy against the wall. He’s really sweating. He knows it’s over. Then out of the corner of my eye I see this other guy, and then I turn to him and I say, ” —Hand over the yogurt.”” Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)

Origin

The idiom ‘out of the corner of one’s eye’ has been used since at least the mid-1800s. The phrase, ‘corner of one’s eye’ is older, having been used since at first part of the century. Here is an example from 1826:

…while myself was tipping them a killing squint from one corner of my eye. 4The Universal Songster; Or, Museum Of Mirth, Robert Cruikshank, Publisher: J. Fairburn, 1826.