keep one's eyes open

Idioms  

1. Also,. Be watchful and observant. For example, We should keep our eyes open for a change in the wind's direction, or Keep your eyes peeled for the teacher. The first phrase dates from the late 1800s; the second and third, both colloquial and alluding to the lids not covering the eyes, date from the mid-1800s and 1830s, respectively.

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Example Sentences

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keep one's eyes open

From the snow-hut observatory, or even at a lesser distance, the Fram is invisible, and it is almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open, owing to the blinding snow.

From Farthest North Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship 'Fram' 1893-1896 by Nansen, Fridtjof

Thou knowest well how to furnish a guard-room when one is required to keep one's eyes open and one's spirits up.

From King Eric and the Outlaws, Vol. 1 or, the Throne, the Church, and the People in the Thirteenth Century. Vol. I. by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

There’s any amount of real misery to be met with in the neighbourhood of the Docks, ay, and all over London, for that matter, if one only chooses to keep one’s eyes open.

From The Pirate Island A Story of the South Pacific by Staniland, C.J.

It is but a small affair to ride alone, but in the confusion of such a train, in a short trot on a lively beast, one must keep one's eyes open.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 10 Prince Otto Von Bismarck, Count Helmuth Von Moltke, Ferdinand Lassalle by Francke, Kuno

One had to keep one’s eyes open there, for they were every bit as brave as we were.

From Out on the Pampas Or, The Young Settlers by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)