a goldfish bowl

a goldfish bowl

A place, situation, or environment in which one has little or no privacy. A reference to the (typically) spherical bowls in which pet fish are often kept, which can be seen into from all sides. One of the prices of success for a pop star is having to live in a goldfish bowl under the scrutiny of the public eye. I feel like I'm in a goldfish bowl working at this new company, with all their security cameras posted everywhere. If you're going to court fame like this, I hope you're ready to live in a goldfish bowl.
See also: bowl, goldfish
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

goldfish bowl

A situation affording no privacy, as in Being in a goldfish bowl comes with the senator's job-there's no avoiding it. The glass bowl allowing one to view goldfish from every direction was transferred first, in the 1920s, to a police interrogation room equipped with a one-way mirror. By the mid-1900s the expression was being used more broadly.
See also: bowl, goldfish
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

goldfish bowl

a place or situation lacking privacy.
See also: bowl, goldfish
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
A friend has told me that a goldfish bowl isn't ideal as she has heard the fish don't get enough oxygen?
paws for thought; PDSA VET IAN FLEMING ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
DAN Biggar has advised more Welsh players to sample life beyond regional rugby because "Wales is such a goldfish bowl".
'Try life outside goldfish bowl'
Dan Biggar has advised more Welsh players to sample life beyond regional rugby -- because "Wales is such a goldfish bowl".
Dan Biggar advises top stars to leave Wales and 'test themselves outside the goldfish bowl'; The 62-cap No. 10 has joined Northampton after 11 seasons with the Ospreys
They placed the fish in the usual plastic bag to carry home and I won a goldfish bowl as well in another event.
Fond memories of 1960s Easter fair
Caption: GOLDFISH LOVER--Two years ago, when President Rohani delivered his Now Ruz message, he quietly signaled where he stood on the controversial goldfish issure by placing a goldfish bowl on his Haft Seen table, but placing an orange inside the bowl
Setting goldfish free is a controversial issue in Iran
They work well in a goldfish bowl, jug type vase or just as they are.
The great Easter indoors and outdoors; Special feature
They work well in a goldfish bowl, jug-type vase or just as they are.
The great Easter indoors and outdoors; GET IN THE MOO OD FOR SOME EASTER ENJOYMENT
"You are at the World Cup, so you are actually in a goldfish bowl within a goldfish bowl.
Flood is backing Tuilagi claims; Former Falcon insists Manu will shine for England
That is a goldfish bowl. It is the World Cup so you are in a goldfish bowl within a goldfish bowl.
Keep a rein on temper, duo told; Rugby Union
They say being a celebrity is like living in a goldfish bowl, so he's doing it literally.
FOR... TAXI
Footballers live in a goldfish bowl these days and the unscrupulous won't hesitate in making a fast buck at their expense.
Football: Jermaine Pennant
He said: 'The player's agent tells me that JJ is quite happy but feels like he's living in a goldfish bowl being a Newcastle player.
FOOTBALL: ROUND-UP Souness blasts Jenas rumours
Pamela Wolicki and her elderly neighbours fear they will be "living in a goldfish bowl" if a shelter is erected in front of their windows in Ansty Road.
We don't want bus stop at our front doors
It was a bit of a goldfish bowl, the life," he says of the closet at sea.
Gay in the Navy: openly gay troops who fought in the Iraqi war say they were accepted in their units. They wonder why the U.S. still has "don't ask, don't tell"
* AMC Pacer: The car masquerading as a goldfish bowl, its unique bulbous glass rear end was a styling cue that was hard to miss.
Nerd cars capture special market. (Property/Casualty: Marketplace)
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?