Occhio! And other Italian idioms with the word eye

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about some Italian idiomatic expressions with the word eye – occhio.

Today I’m going to add other six Italian idioms with the word occhio.

Let’s start by saying that even the Italian word occhio, taken in its own, can have a special meaning when used in informal Italian. In fact, it can mean to pay attention to, to be careful with something, to watch out.

Examples:

a. Occhio che arriva una macchina!

Watch/look out there’s a car coming!

b. Se vai al supermercato, occhio che hanno aumentato i prezzi

If you go to the supermarket be careful because they’ve increased prices

And now, let’s see some other Italian idioms with the word occhio.

1. Aprire gli occhi

This expression is the equivalent of the English one “open your eyes”. So, it’s used to make someone realize the fact that something is different from the way they thought it was.

Ex: Ma apri gli occhi! Non vedi che Francesco continua a mentirti!

Open your eyes! Can’t you see? Francesco keeps lying to you!

2. Avere un occhio di riguardo

It means to have a special consideration for someone, because of his skills, curriculum, or because he has famous or important relatives, and this involves sometimes playing favorites.

Ex: Mi raccomando, trattalo con un occhio di riguardo, è una persona importante!

Be sure to have special consideration for him, he’s a very important person!

3. Buttare un occhio

This expression means to watch and check something/someone to see if they are safe.

Ex: Butta un occhio alla casa mentre non ci sono

Keep an eye on the house for me while I’m gone

4. In un batter d’occhio

It means to do something quickly

Ex: La casa era stata svaligiata in un batter d’occhio

The house was robbed in no time

5. Mangiare/divorare qualcosa/qualcuno con gli occhi

When you mangi something or someone con gli occhi, you desire it/him/her very much.

Ex: Giulia ti sta mangiando con gli occhi

Giulia wants you, she can’t take her eyes off you

6. Saltare/balzare all’occhio/agli occhi

This Italian expression means to attract somebody’s attention, to be noticeable.

Ex: Salta subito all’occhio che il lavoro non è stato fatto da un professionista!

It’s evident that the job wasn’t done by a professional!

Do you know some other Italian expressions with the word occhio?

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Credits

Original image by StockSnap