one in the eye for
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A setback.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
If it catches on it will certainly be one in the eye for greedy undertakers — after all, you never see a poor one, do you?’
THAT 'S one in the eye for Rod Stewart!
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “one in the eye for” mean?
A setback.
Is “one in the eye for” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.