with a jaundiced eye
with a jaundiced eye
In a negative or uncharitable light that has been informed by past experiences. Most commonly used after the verbs "see" or "look." I used to think that Chris was a good kid, but ever since I overheard him bragging about cheating on an exam, I've seen him with a jaundiced eye. After you've been in this industry for as long as I have, you start to look on deals like these with a jaundiced eye.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
jaundiced eye, (look on) with a
Seeing only the faults or bad side. This term is based on the old belief that to a person suffering from jaundice (a condition in which the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow), everything looks yellow. John Webster put it into so many words in The White Devil (1.2): “They that have the yellow jaundice think all objects they look on to be yellow” (1612). The expression long survived the belief and was a cliché by 1800 or so.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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