Look daggers

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Look daggers means to glare angrily or with intense hostility; in dramatic interactions, it conveys silent fury, resentment, or threat, using visual intensity to express emotion without words.

Detailed Definition
Look daggers means to glare with hostility, anger, jealousy, or hatred. In poetry, the idiom turns a look into a weapon, making silence aggressive and visually sharp. It is useful in dramatic scenes where words are withheld but feeling is unmistakable. A jealous lover, rival, betrayed friend, or resentful crowd may look daggers. The phrase helps students see how idioms can convert facial expression into metaphorical action, suggesting that violence may begin in the eyes before it reaches speech or deed.
Example
Example in poetry:
A dramatic poem might say the queen looked daggers at the traitor across the banquet table; In comic verse, the cook looks daggers when the cat steals the cream; The phrase means to glare with anger or hostility; A poet can use it to make silence feel sharp.
Additional Notes
To look daggers means glare with intense anger or hostility. The idiom turns eyes into weapons, making sight itself capable of wounding. In poetry, it is useful for silent conflict, jealousy, social tension, family quarrels, or suppressed rage. Students should notice how it differs from spoken anger: the violence remains visual and unspoken. It pairs well with blades, glances, mirrors, eyebrows, and rooms heavy with silence.
Also Known As
glare angrily
Skip to main content