look askance



look askance

View with mistrust, as in They looked askance at him when he said he'd just made a million in the stock market. The precise feeling conveyed by this expression has varied since it was first used in the 1500s, from envy to contempt to suspicion, although the literal meaning was "look obliquely, with a side glance." The present sense dates from about 1800. Also see look sideways.
See also: askance, look

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Aeronwy-Welsh
Virgilioveer-JEE-lyo (Italian), beer-KHEE-lyo (Spanish)Italian, Spanish
Melchormel-CHORSpanish
KonrÁD-Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
LiloLEE-loGerman
RiŠO-Slovak