to look over one's shoulder
54
7.0
- phrasal verb
:
mirar por encima del hombro
- After receiving several threatening messages, she constantly had to look over her shoulder when walking home.
Examples
-
For the rest of your life you're going to be looking over your shoulder.
-
You'll never have to look over your shoulder again.
-
I never stopped looking over my shoulder for you.
-
Moving from place to place... always looking over my shoulder.
-
Do you have to look over your shoulder every five seconds?
-
I guess I am just getting tired of looking over my shoulder.
-
You have me looking over my shoulder too.
-
Everywhere I go... looking over my shoulder.
-
A lifetime of looking over my shoulder.
-
I was even afraid to keep a diary because everyone would be looking over my shoulder.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
153
1.6
Watch for danger or trouble
104
6.8
Be careful about people who might try to harm you
Antonyms
How Cautious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative meaning is directly inferable from the literal action: to 'look over one's shoulder' literally means to glance behind you, and that behaviour naturally signals caution, fear, or anxiety. This physical-to-psychological mapping is transparent and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to deduce the intended meaning.
Etymology
Look over one's shoulder shows the image of someone turning their head to look over their shoulder, checking who is behind them as if they might be followed or watched. So the phrase means 'to be careful or worried about someone watching or following you'.