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The eyelid pull is a gesture in which the finger is used to pull one lower Word Wizard: My eye! / My foot!
br/> * 1842 “Church, MY EYE, woman! church indeed!”—‘Handy Andy’ by S. Lover *1905 “‘Tragic, MY EYE!’ said my friend irreverently.”—in ‘Works’ of O. Henry * 1928 “Gentlemen, ME EYE! You’ve got to get over being gentleman if you’re going to play football on my team!”—in ‘Sport’ by Paxton * 1929 ‘How about Bigelow's Mill . .. that's a factory.’ ‘Factory MY EYE.’”—‘The Sound and the Fury’ by Faulkner
The eyelid pull is a gesture in which the finger is used to pull one lower eyelid
An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. The human eye ...
further down, exposing more of the eyeball. This gesture has different meanings in different cultures, but in many cultures, particularly in the Mediterranean, signifies alertness, or a warning to be watchful.
In the Italian language
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...
, one can say ''occhio'' (''eye''), not necessarily with the gesture, to signify the same.
In France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, the gesture of pulling down one's lower eyelid and saying ''mon œil'', or "my eye", is an expression of disdainful, dismissive disbelief. In Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
it is used similarly. The phrase "my eye" is an outdated expression of disbelief in the English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
, although without the gesture.br/> * 1842 “Church, MY EYE, woman! church indeed!”—‘Handy Andy’ by S. Lover *1905 “‘Tragic, MY EYE!’ said my friend irreverently.”—in ‘Works’ of O. Henry * 1928 “Gentlemen, ME EYE! You’ve got to get over being gentleman if you’re going to play football on my team!”—in ‘Sport’ by Paxton * 1929 ‘How about Bigelow's Mill . .. that's a factory.’ ‘Factory MY EYE.’”—‘The Sound and the Fury’ by Faulkner
See also
*Akanbe
Akanbe () is a Japanese facial gesture indicating sarcasm but also used as a taunt. It consists of someone pulling down one's lower eyelid to expose the red underside towards someone, often accompanied by the person sticking their tongue out.
R ...
References
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