side-eye

A side-eye is a sideways look that says “I don’t trust this,” “really?” or “I saw that.” Giving someone the side-eye means silently judging them.

What side-eye means

Merriam-Webster defines it as a sidelong glance expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval or veiled curiosity. You don’t turn your head, you just move your eyes. It’s the face you make when a friend says they’re “only having one drink,” or when someone microwaves fish in the office.

Online, it’s often figurative. You can side-eye a company’s apology, a suspicious deal or a celebrity’s new relationship without literally looking at anything. The 👀 and 😒 emojis do a lot of side-eye work.

Examples

• “The way my mom side-eyed my new tattoo.”
• “Giving this ‘limited time offer’ the biggest side-eye.”
• “He said he’d be on time and I gave him a side-eye.”

“Bombastic side eye”

In January 2023, TikTok gave side-eye a famous upgrade. A fan account posted audio of TikTok creator @cynthiammasi, and on January 22 another user’s duet added the catchphrase “bombastic side eye, criminal offensive side eye.” It became a sound for anyone pulling a theatrical look of disapproval.

Where side-eye came from

This one is genuinely old. Merriam-Webster gives a first known use of 1797, and Dictionary.com points to examples including James Joyce’s Ulysses in 1922, with the verb in use since at least 1916. What changed is how much we use it. Dictionary.com says it became far more common from the 2010s, helped along by memes such as the widely shared images of Michelle Obama’s expression at the January 2017 presidential inauguration.

Related terms

• Sus: suspicious.
• Shade: a subtle insult.
• Yikes: a reaction to something cringeworthy.
• Pressed: upset or bothered.

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang guide.