if looks could kill

English

Etymology

In aphorism 64, section 2 of Friedrich Nietzsche's 1878 book Human, All Too Human, Nietzsche writes that "If looks could kill, we would long ago have been done for."

In chapter 16 of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula in a diary entry of Dr. Seward, he notes about the undead Lucy Westenra that "If ever a face meant death--if looks could kill--we saw it at that moment."

An ellipsis (anapodoton) for an expression such as "If looks could kill, her look would have led to the death of the person she was looking at."

A possible origin of the phrase comes from the legend of Medusa, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

if looks could kill

1. (idiomatic, anapodoton) Used to characterize a look of strong hostility

Translations

used to characterize a look of strong hostility

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 如果眼神可以杀人

• Czech: kdyby pohled mohl zabíjet
• Dutch: als blikken konden doden
• Finnish: jos katse voisi tappaa
• French: si on pouvait tuer d’un simple regard
• German: wenn Blicke töten könnten
• Japanese: 見た目で人が殺せるのなら (mita me de hito ga koroseru no nara)
• Polish: gdyby wzrok mógł zabijać
• Portuguese: se o/um olhar matasse
• Russian: е́сли бы взгля́дом мо́жно бы́ло уби́ть (jésli by vzgljádom móžno býlo ubítʹ)
• Spanish: si la mirada matara

See also

• Appendix:English examples of anapodoton