double take
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
An acting trick. It consists in looking away from the person who has addressed a remark to you, and then looking back at him quickly when the purport of the remark sinks in.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “double take” mean?
An acting trick. It consists in looking away from the person who has addressed a remark to you, and then looking back at him quickly when the purport of the remark sinks in.
Is “double take” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.