See Eye to Eye

Meaning of Idiom ‘See Eye to Eye’

To see eye to eye with someone means to agree with them; to think alike; to have similar opinions or viewpoints. 1Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.,2Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995.

When people see eye to eye, they get along with each other.

See also, thick as thieves.

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Examples Of Use

“Frank and I could never see eye to eye.”

“The two detectives made bad partners. They could not even see eye to eye on what to have for lunch.”

“If we can’t see eye to eye on even the smallest thing, there is no point in continuing this relationship.”

Origin

The idiom is thought to derive from the Bible, the book of Isaiah, 52:8:

“Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.”

The Bible passage, however, does not actually mean that they will agree and according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is a misapplication of the phrase. 3Bengelsdorf, Peter. Idioms in the News – 1,000 Phrases, Real Examples. N.p.: Amz Digital Services, 2012.

Later versions of the Bible have replaced the phrase “see eye to eye” with supposedly correct translations:

*…see it with their own eyes – New International Version
*…see with their own eyes – English Standard Version
*…before their very eyes they see – New Living Translation
*…for every eye will see – Holman Christian Standard Bible
*…for eye to eye they see – English Standard Version

More Idioms Starting with S

• Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
• Sleep Tight
• Screw UP
• Shoot Down
• Ship Out

More Biblical Idioms

• Wash Your Hands of (Someone or Something)
• The Bitter End, to (until)
• Know Someone from Adam, to not
• Fly in the Ointment, a
• Eleventh Hour, at the

More Body Part Idioms

• Go Belly Up
• Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
• In One’s Face
• Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
• Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand

More Eye Idioms

• Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
• Make Eyes at Someone Meaning
• Keep an Eye Out Meaning
• Keep Your Eyes Open Meaning
• Keep Your Eyes Peeled Meaning

More See Idioms

• Know Something When You See It
• Let Me See
• Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

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