if looks could kill
- idiom
- Informal
:
miradas que matan
- When he walked in late, his boss gave him a stare that said if looks could kill.
Examples
-
During the meeting, their argument grew tense, and for a moment, if looks could kill, he wouldn’t have survived.
-
She glared at him from across the room as if looks could kill.
-
She gave him a look that said, if looks could kill!
-
He shot her a glance that made me think, if looks could kill.
-
She glared at him, and if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot.
-
When he heard the news, he shot her a look that said if looks could kill, she wouldn't stand a chance.
-
The teacher gave the student a stern gaze, and if looks could kill, he would have been utterly terrified.
Synonyms
49
3.2
To stare at someone angrily to show dislike
9
7.2
A look that people think causes harm or bad luck
2
7.4
A fierce look that shows anger or dislike
2
4.6
A fixed unfriendly look that shows anger or disapproval
1
5.8
A very angry face that makes someone feel afraid
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines literal words ('if', 'looks', 'could', 'kill') in a conditional hyperbole: learners can infer that a gaze is so hostile it would be deadly. However, the sense is figurative/metaphorical rather than strictly compositional, so understanding requires recognizing the non-literal use of 'kill' applied to 'looks'.
Etymology
The idiom if looks could kill paints a strong picture: imagine someone's looks are like a weapon that could kill. One popular story says people once believed an angry stare could cause real harm, so today we use the phrase to say someone looks very angry or 'hostile'.