to look a day over
5
9.0
- idiom
:
parecer mayor de
- Although I may not look a day over 25, I have learned quite a few lessons in my 30 years.
- look a day over twenty
- look a day over thirty
- look a day over forty
Examples
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You don't look a day over thirty-nine.
Fiction book (2002) -
And I swear to you on my life, you don't look a day over 65.
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Well, you don't look a day over 25.
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And you don't look a day over 25.
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Of course, you don't look a day over 12.
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Let me be the first to say you don't look a day over 10.
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You don't look a day over 40.
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You don't look a day over 48.
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You don't look a day over 35.
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Well, you don't look a day over 25.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'look' (to appear) plus the phrase 'a day over [age]' is partly compositional — literally suggesting being a day older than the stated age — so a learner who knows the words can form a basic sense. However, the conventionalized, pragmatic use (especially in the negative form 'doesn't look a day over X' meaning 'appears no older than X / very youthful') is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression only partly transparent to learners.
Etymology
Look a day over comes from the simple idea that even 'a day' more in age would show on your face. So saying someone looks a day over thirty means they 'are no older than thirty' and is a way to say they look young.