give someone the eye

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

give someone the eye (third-person singular simple present gives someone the eye, present participle giving someone the eye, simple past gave someone the eye, past participle given someone the eye)

1. (idiomatic) To show flirtatious signs or sexual interest/attraction with one's eyes coveted. Synonyms: eye up, give someone the glad eye

   I saw him giving me the eye as soon as I entered the room.

   • 1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 90:

     She was sort of cute, the blonde one, and I started giving her the old eye a little bit, but just then the waiter came up for my order.

Translations

show flirtatious signs

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 抛媚眼 (zh) (pao mei yan)

• Finnish: pitää silmäpeliä
• Norman: faithe des ilyies
• Russian: стреля́ть глаза́ми (streljátʹ glazámi) (literally, shoot with the eyes), стро́ить гла́зки (ru) (stróitʹ glázki)