sober look
1
5.1
- noun
:
mirada seria
- As a clash of idiocies erupts over the depiction of Muhammad in an obscure Islamophobic film, it's time for a sober look at the man behind the prophet.
Examples
-
Irina questioned, with a sober look on her face.
Fiction book (2002) -
" Take a good sober look at life.
Fiction book (1993) -
I had a long sober look at the others; sometimes the women used to rub champagne in my hair.
Fiction book (2000) -
A sober look in Jack's eyes.
Fiction book (2000) -
Joking aside, anyone who takes a sober look at the world can see that we're far from any significant collective shift in consciousness.
Blog text (33) -
Sober voices, sober looks.
Fiction book (2000) -
She had a sober look on her face as she listened to the news.
-
When he mentioned his plans, she gave him a sober look that indicated her disapproval.
-
During the meeting, everyone wore a sober look as they discussed the company's future.
Synonyms
34
3.9
A face that shows no feeling, often to avoid laughing
12
4.8
A face that shows no feeling so others cannot tell what you feel
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a facial expression that is serious or grave' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sober' (serious, solemn) with 'look' (facial expression). This straightforward adjective + noun composition is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun sober look comes from the idea that sober means calm and not excited and look means face or expression. Imagine someone with a plain, calm face — a sober look shows little emotion, so it means 'serious' or 'grave'.