weather eye
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The cautious eye. Any one who is supposed to have an extra good knowledge of things in general, or to be hard to impose on or cheat, is said to have his WEATHER EYE well open.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “weather eye” mean?
The cautious eye. Any one who is supposed to have an extra good knowledge of things in general, or to be hard to impose on or cheat, is said to have his WEATHER EYE well open.
Is “weather eye” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.