double take
8
5.8
- noun
- Informal
:
doble toma
- His sudden change in style made everyone at the party do a double take as they tried to recognize him.
What really made me do a double take was he was so good looking.
- What really made me do a double take was he was so good looking.
- So would you do a double take or would you be like, oh, OK, twins.
- And a few people sort of were like doing double takes.
- Sometimes I meet a stranger and I just it's like, it's like a double take.
- And Speaking of double takes, Los Calientes is back in the five spot.
- He's gave him the pool cue and he's done a double take.
Examples
-
But every time I'd turn to do a double take, you'd have your back to me.
-
But Tyler was kind; though he did a double take when he saw Lilly, he sat down next to me.
Fiction book (1997) -
What really made me do a double take was he was so good looking.
-
And they would do a double take and say, well, what can I do?
-
I always did a double take when I saw him in street clothes.
Fiction book (2000) -
As I turn to leave the museum, I do a double take.
Fiction book (2001) -
Ben looks out the window and does a double take.
Fiction book (1999) -
The man literally did a double take.
-
At the bottom, she rounded the corner to go inside and did a double take.
Fiction book (1999) -
Trevor jolts backward in shock and does a double take.
Fiction book (2002)
Antonyms
How Surprised
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'double' clearly signals 'twice' and 'take' can occur in senses like 'take a look', so a learner who knows those senses could infer a 'second/extra look'. However the specific pragmatic sense — a sudden surprised reaction after initially not noticing — is an idiomatic, discourse-pragmatic extension of 'second look' and is not fully predictable without exposure, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Double take may come from old stage acting, where a performer looks once and then quickly looks a second time — a second take or a double look — to show 'surprise'. So today double take means suddenly noticing something and showing 'surprise'.