释义 |
cause raised eyebrows cause some raised eyebrowsTo elicit shock, surprise, or offense, typically through unconventional actions or words. The phrase typically suggests negative attention or judgment. Her irreverent chatter during the ceremony caused some raised eyebrows. My best friend's pink hair definitely caused some raised eyebrows at our very strict school.See also: cause, eyebrow, raisedcause raised eyebrowsAlso, raise eyebrows. Cause surprise or disapproval, as in At school his purple hair usually causes raised eyebrows. This transfer of a physical act (raising one's eyebrows) to the feelings it may express took place in the early 1900s. Lytton Strachey used the term in The Eminent Victorians (1918): "The most steady-going churchman hardly raises an eyebrow at it now." See also: cause, eyebrow, raised |