in the eye of
1
In the center or focal point of something, as in They were right in the eye of this controversy. This term employs eye in the sense of “a central spot,” a usage dating from the mid-1700s.
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2
in the eyes of. In the view or opinion of, from the standpoint of. For example, In the eyes of his fans Elvis could do no wrong, or In the eyes of the law he was a fugitive. The eyes here allude to their function, seeing. [Late 1500s]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.