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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. "Palpebral ...
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 (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...
, one can say ''occhio'' (''eye''), not necessarily with the gesture, to signify the same.
In France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, the gesture of pulling down one's lower eyelid and saying ''mon œil'', or "my eye", is an expression of disdainful, dismissive disbelief. Similar variations of the gesture exist in other European countries, for example Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
or Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The phrase "my eye" is an outdated expression of disbelief in the English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
, 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 (, and ) is a Culture of Japan, Japanese facial gesture indicating sarcasm but also used as a Taunting, taunt, especially by children. It consists of someone pulling down one's lower eyelid to expose the red underside towards someone, ofte ...
References
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