see with half an eye

Idioms  

1. Notice the obvious, tell at a glance, as in I could see with half an eye that he was sleeping through the entire concert. This hyperbolic expression, which presumably alludes to an eye that is only half-open, was first recorded in 1579.

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Example Sentences

Any one could see with half an eye that the woman was as pious as could be—the kind that was hand and glove with parsons.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

For Everett had begun, as anybody could see with half an eye, as Letty Lambkin put it briskly.

From Concerning Sally by Hopkins, William John

Dick ain't so very good-lookin', I'll allow," Mrs. Parkenson would add, by way of comparison; "but he's more of a man than Joe, as anybody might see with half an eye.

From Belford's Magazine, Vol 2, December 1888 by Various

He could see with half an eye that Mrs. Lee distrusted him.

From Bat Wing Bowles by Coolidge, Dane

A week ago, up comes a man to my door—a fine man, sir, and a gentleman, as one could see with half an eye.

From The Man from Archangel and Other Tales of Adventure by Doyle, A. Conan