Looking out of the corner of your eye is pronounced pìnì. looking out of the corner of your eye means to look askance.

I. Word Origin

The word look askance is first found in Zuo Zhuan - Zhaogong 28: "My son looks askance." Here "my son" refers to an official of the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period, who expressed his contempt for someone by looking askance. Later, the word gradually evolved to mean arrogance and contempt.

Two Idioms

There is an idiomatic story about looking askance, which is called "Duke Mu of Qin looked askance at the whole world". Duke Mu of Qin was a monarch of the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period, who ruled the country and made Qin one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. During his reign, Duke Mu of Qin used the power of the State of Jin to pacify the Zhou Dynasty and welcome King Xiang of Zhou. Later, Duke Mu of Qin wanted to continue to expand his kingdom, so he began to invade the surrounding vassal states.

During the invasion, Duke Mu of Qin became proud of his achievements and began to look down upon the world, belittling the other vassal states. This story expresses that when a state is powerful, the ruler may develop a mindset of arrogance and contempt for other states.

Third, Word Usage

The word "look out of the corner of one's eye", in daily usage, usually indicates that a person is haughty and arrogant and doesn't take others into account. It can be used to describe a person's demeanor, behavior and attitude, e.g., "He always looks out of the corner of his eye and looks very arrogant."

Example sentences of looking out of the corner of one's eye:

1. After he had made brilliant achievements, he began to look out of the corner of one's eye and ignore the opinions and suggestions of others, which led to the gradual decline of his career.

2. After ascending to the throne, ancient emperors often looked down upon the world and considered themselves supreme in power, thus slacking off in the governance of the country, which led to the gradual decline of the country.

3. In the arena, he always looked out of the corner of his eye at his opponents, showing a kind of self-confidence and dominance, which made his opponents shudder, and he won many matches as a result.

4. In the company, she was proud of her ability and often looked out of the corner of her eyes at her colleagues, unwilling to cooperate with everyone, which led to her colleagues being distant from her, and made her encounter a lot of difficulties in her work.

5. Since becoming a rich man, he began to look askance at the people around him, believing that they were all ordinary people who couldn't understand his way of life and taste, and this condescending attitude made him have fewer and fewer friends.