to cock your eye
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To shut one eye and look with the other in a somewhat impertinent manner; to glance at questionmgly. Cp. COCK-EYE.
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 “to cock your eye” mean?
To shut one eye and look with the other in a somewhat impertinent manner; to glance at questionmgly. Cp. COCK-EYE.
Is “to cock your eye” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.