We at Vision Direct take an interest in all things eye related, and it’s no wonder we get all giddy with excitement when we think about our burgeoning eye lexicon. It’s not just contact lenses and contact lens solution soup here at Vision Direct towers – oh no. We know a good time when we see one, and word games are right up there. So without further ado, it’s time for us to walk down that optic nerve of fun and check out some of the eye phrases that have been catching our, er, eye recently.
There are heaps of famous quotes related to eyes, and some, like “An eye, an eye, my kingdom for an eye”, that we made up. A great quote related to eyes comes in the form of “The eyes are mirrors to the soul”. Now, Mrs Vision Direct was sure that this was Shakespeare, but a bit of research tells us that it is in fact an old proverb – Yiddish, to be precise. It’s fairly self-explanatory, but captures the beauty that first attracted us to the eye, and led to a grand career in contact lenses and other eye products.
The Bible can be a source of refuge for Vision Direct in our darker moments, not least because of the wonderful quotes on eyes contained therein. Well, they’re not exactly beautiful, but they’re certainly well known. “An eye for an eye” is a good one, coming as it does in the Old Testament, which is often full of vengeful heroes like Samson and Gideon. This was developed further in the New Testament through Jesus, and became the famous “turn the other cheek” maxim. Much later, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, jr, said that an eye for an eye “leaves everyone blind”. And how right they were.
Moving on, it’s time to talk about fruit. Apples, to be precise. They’ve played an important role in history, from Sir Isaac Newton to Steve Jobs and his shiny toys, and, of course, they make an important appearance in the Good Book. For did the serpent not tempt Eve with the fruit from the tree of knowledge? True, but you can also talk about the apple of your eye, which again comes from the Bible. This particular phrase refers to something or someone that you cherish – that is the apple of your eye.
Animals also have eyes, and form the basis of some other great phrases. You can have eagle eyes, or eyes like a hawk, meaning that you can spot delicious looking voles and carrion whilst on the wing. There’s also the “eye of the tiger”, a song made famous by the film Rocky III. It’s best to focus on the heroism part of this phrase, rather than the descent into self-parody which comes later.
