out of the corner of one's eye

1. Glancing casually or surreptitiously, as in Out of the corner of my eye I saw Justin walking out the door. This expression refers to looking sideways at something rather than directly.

Example Sentences

The squares appear to ripple and shimmer as if animated, although this effect is almost a fugitive motion, as if glimpsed out of the corner of one’s eye.

From Los Angeles Times

And then, out of the corner of one's eye, creeping up the pillow, and hugely magnified by proximity, another monstrous brute appears.

From Project Gutenberg

Then the decline had been perceived as one sometimes perceives a thing in the background out of the corner of one's eye.

From Project Gutenberg