look over one's shoulder

English

Verb

look over one's shoulder

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see look,‎ over,‎ shoulder.
   • 1962 May, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 343:

     Once I visited the Kings Cross office on an extremely foggy day and about 3.45 I was looking over the shoulder of the Section Controller for the Kings Cross-Finsbury Park stretch.

   • 2021, Michael Farris Smith, chapter 28, in Nick, New York, Boston, London: Little, Brown and Company, page 150:

     Nick walked over and touched the brass knob, looked over his shoulder as if Judah may be watching from the doorway.

2. (idiomatic) To check obsessively out of excessive caution or fear of a perceived danger.

   This is a cutthroat industry. You have to constantly look over your shoulder.

Usage notes

One person can also look over another person's shoulder, especially when watching what they are doing.

Translations

check obsessively out of fear

• Finnish: olla varuillaan
• Italian: guardarsi alle spalle
• Polish: no equivalent term in Polish, but see baczyć (pl) impf

References

• “be looking over one’s shoulders”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.