What Does Side Eye Mean?

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Learn exactly why people might give you side-eye

Co-authored by Aimee Payne, MFA Reviewed by Anyah Le Gilmore-Jones

Last Updated: November 7, 2024 Fact Checked

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Side-Eye Meaning

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How to Tell What Side-Eye Indicates

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How & When to Use a Side-Eye

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Side-Eye Memes

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Side-Eye Emoji

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Origins of Side-Eye

Have you ever heard someone say that another person gave them the side-eye? “The side-eye” is another way of saying that someone's judging another person's words or actions. In this handy guide, we’ll help you understand what it means to give someone the side-eye with examples of how to do it.

‘Side-Eye’ Definition

‘Side-eye’ refers to a sidelong glance out of the corner of one’s eye that indicates disapproval, contempt, or judgment. When someone gives a person the side-eye, they look at them out of the corner of their eye instead of facing them directly.

Section 1 of 6:

Side-Eye Meaning

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'Side-eye' means giving a sidelong glance to show criticism or disbelief. It can also communicate shock or scorn.^{[1]
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Research source} Ultimately, a person giving the side-eye is judging the person they’re looking at. For example, you might give side-eye to someone who:
- Constantly shows up late for meetings but yells at anyone who’s a few minutes late.
- Talks about controversial politics at Thanksgiving dinner.
- Starts spreading nasty rumors about another friend.
- Tells off-color jokes in front of your grandmother.

Section 2 of 6:

How to Tell What Side-Eye Indicates

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Determine what a side-eye means through context and body language. The exact meaning of a side-eye often depends on the situation, body language, and verbal cues the person gives you. If you see someone flashing a side-eye, think about your recent interactions and look at what else they’re doing. Body language can give you valuable hints about how another person is reacting to you. Here are some examples of some potential meanings of side-eye and the clues to give them away:^{[2]
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- Scorn: Has someone said something controversial? Did they do something that others might see as upsetting? You might see a side-eye with a curled lip to indicate disgust.
- Doubt: If someone's recently made a grand claim that seems unlikely, another person might be using a side-eye to express their doubt or suspicion of that person's honesty. The side-eye may be accompanied by pursed lips or a frown.^{[3]
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- Criticism: A side-eye accompanied by crossed arms might indicate disapproval.
- Shock: When a side-eye is accompanied by raised brows and wide eyes, it can mean they are surprised at something that was done or said.
- Humor: In some cases, a side-eye is used in a humorous way. A person may react to something someone has done with exaggerated body language cues or facial expressions to jokingly express scorn, shock, doubt, or criticism. Usually, they follow up the side-eye with laughter to show that they weren’t serious.

Section 3 of 6:

How & When to Use a Side-Eye

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Look at someone from the corner of your eye when you disapprove of their actions. Because you haven’t turned your head, you’re looking at them from the side of your eye, which is how the expression got its name. It’s also referred to as a sidelong glance.^{[4]
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Research source} Give someone the side-eye when you disapprove of their words or actions. For example:
- “My brother has never once picked up his dirty clothes off the floor, so when he said he would help with the laundry, I gave him the side-eye.”
- “I gave her the side-eye after the third time she interrupted the story I was trying to tell.”
- “Mindy said she saw Emily at a diner with a guy who wasn’t her boyfriend. I gave her the side-eye and said it was Emily’s brother back from the Navy.”
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Send the side-eye emoji 👀 to someone who did something shocking on social media. If someone has sent you a text or posted on social media about something you don’t approve of, use the eyes emoji to show your scorn or shock over their words.
- “My sister said she was going to the library to study. When she came out dressed in an evening gown with no books in sight, Mom texted me 👀.”
- “He texted our group chat that he was able to finish that entire project alone in 2 hours. I knew there were 3 people on his team who worked on it all weekend, so I replied with 👀.”
- “She played that song 3 times in a row. If she plays it one more time, she’s getting a criminal offensive 👀.”
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Post a GIF or meme of someone giving side-eye to express doubt or criticism. Posting side-eye memes as a response on social media is a good way to express your doubt, surprise, or criticism of a subject. There are a wide variety of side-eye images to choose from to get your point across.
- “Jay posted that his girlfriend was a model, so she wanted to keep their relationship low-key. Then he shared a picture of a supermodel, so I commented with a picture of that monkey puppet giving a side-eye.”
- “She posted a picture of Side-Eyeing Chloe with the caption: It’s not even October yet, and I just heard Christmas music at Target.”
- “Emma just went to the bathroom and the woman in the stall next to her was on the phone with her boyfriend fighting at top volume. She sent me a GIF of a dog giving serious side-eye.”

Section 4 of 6:

Side-Eye Memes

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Side-Eyeing Chloe Side-Eyeing Chloe is based on a screen capture from a YouTube video parents, David and Katie Clem, took on September 12, 2013, while telling their two daughters about a trip to Disneyland. The older daughter, Lily, was so happy she burst into tears. The younger daughter, named Chloe, gave her sister a disapproving side-eye.^{[5]
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- Five days later, a user on Tumblr made GIFs based on the video. These GIFs appeared in a Buzzfeed post titled, “Girl Reacting To Disneyland Is The Only Reaction You’ll Need For Anything Ever.”
- Tumblr users swapped the faces in pictures of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Lady GaGa with Chloe’s.
- In 2021, the Clems minted an NFT using the Side Eyeing Chloe photo and auctioned it off for 25 Ethereum.^{[6]
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  Research source} At the time, 1 Ethereum was equal to about $3,062 USD, meaning the NFT sold for around $76,550.^{[7]
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Awkward Look Monkey Puppet Two images of Kenta, the monkey puppet from the Japanese children’s show Ōkiku Naru Ko, were combined to create the appearance of a side-eye. In the first image, Kenta awkwardly glances toward the viewer, and then he looks away again in the second. The puppet didn’t give the side-eye in the show, the meme was photoshopped by Daniel Flores when he made it in 2016.^{[8]
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- The image originally spread in Spanish meme communities because the Japanese show was dubbed into Spanish and aired in Latin America in the 1980s.
- The meme didn’t go viral until 2019 after a user shared a tweet featuring the meme on Reddit.
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Bombastic Side-Eye The Bombastic Side-Eye is a trend on TikTok featuring a viral audio recording many people have added to their post videos. In the recording, a TikTok user said, “side eyes” twice, using different tones of voice each time. Others add the audio to videos of themselves reacting to funny, controversial, or uncomfortable situations.^{[9]
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- Bombastic side-eye means the same thing as side-eye. It’s the dirty look someone gives to show disgust, disapproval, or judgment for another person.
- “Criminal offensive side-eye” is another term used on TikTok that means the same thing as “side-eye” and “bombastic side-eye.”
- A new version of the meme with the audio “bombastic side-eye, criminal offensive side-eye” began to circulate on TikTok in late January 2023.

Section 5 of 6:

Side-Eye Emoji

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There are a few different emojis that users interpret as side-eye. One is the eyes emoji 👀, an image of two eyes looking to the left.^{[10]
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Research source} Use the eyes emoji to express judgment, disbelief, or disapproval.
- The unamused face emoji 😒 is a frowning yellow face with eyes looking to the right. It communicates skepticism, grumpiness, and irritation.^{[11]
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- There are reports that users have requested Apple create a side-eye emoji with a yellow face. The emoji is turned to the side so only one eye and the side of the mouth are visible. The eye is looking sideways at the viewer.

Section 6 of 6:

Origins of Side-Eye

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The term dates back to the late 1700s. It appeared in the phrase “looked upon with a side eye” in a periodical from 1797 called Remembrancer For Lord’s Day Evenings. James Joyce also used the phrase in his novel Ulysses in the passage, “A side eye at my Hamlet hat. If I were suddenly naked here as I sit? I am not.”^{[12]
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- Shakespeare called this sideways gaze of disapproval “looking askance” in The Taming of the Shrew.^{[13]
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  Research source} He also used “Most true it is that I have look’d on truth askance and strangely…” in Sonnet 110.^{[14]
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Side-eye has become increasingly popular in the 21st century. The term has been appearing more often in major publications like Time, Cosmopolitan, and The Chicago Tribune. It’s also become popular on social media due to memes, most recently Bombastic Side Eye on TikTok.^{[15]
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- A sub-trend of the Bombastic Side-Eye meme involves users translating “bombastic side-eye” into other languages.