to bat an eyelid
1
7.7
- idiom
- UK
:
no inmutarse
- When she announced her resignation, nobody even bat an eyelid.
It's become so common, people don't even bat an eyelid.
- It's become so common, people don't even bat an eyelid.
Examples
-
These people don't seem to bat an eyelid over high gasoline prices.
Blog text (18) -
Despite the shocking news about the company's bankruptcy, he didn't bat an eyelid.
-
The police won't bat an eyelid.
-
Guy didn't even bat an eyelid.
-
Meanwhile, she acts as if nothing is happening, not even batting an eyelid.
Fiction book (1995) -
I wouldn't bat an eyelid if what goes around comes back around and happens to you.
Blog text (26) -
And when our reporter tried it, nobody batted an eyelid.
-
Grown-ups could read whatever they wanted, even then, and no one batted an eyelid.
Fiction book (1997) -
Wouldn't bat an eyelid at dropping a mil or two.
-
When the unexpected storm hit, she continued to work without batting an eyelid.
Antonyms
How Surprised
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal constituents ('bat' = flutter one’s eyelashes; 'eyelid' = skin fold) give a plausible link to an observable reaction, so a learner could infer a relation to showing or not showing a reaction. However, the established idiomatic use (especially in negative form 'didn't bat an eyelid' = showed no surprise/reaction) is conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Bat an eyelid comes from a simple image of blinking: to bat means to move the eyelid quickly, so if someone does not bat an eyelid they do not even blink at surprising news. That's why it means 'to show no surprise or emotion'.