eyes in the back of one's head, to have
have eyes in the back of one's head
Fig. to seem to be able to sense what is going on behind or outside of one's field of vision. My teacher seems to have eyes in the back of her head. My teacher doesn't need to have eyes in the back of his head. He watches us very carefully.
See also: back, eye, have, head, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
have eyes in the back of your head
observe everything that is happening even when this is apparently impossible. 1991 Barbara Anderson Girls High They were all in Miss Royston's class who said that she had eyes in the back of her head and they half believed it, because how else did she know.
See also: back, eye, have, head, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
have eyes in the back of your ˈhead
(informal) seem to be able to see everything and know what is going on: You have to have eyes in the back of your head to keep control of six lively children.See also: back, eye, have, head, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
eyes in the back of one's head, to have
To be exceptionally alert. This expression dates from Roman times, appearing in Plautus’s play Aulularia (ca. 210 b.c.) and cited by Erasmus in his collection of adages. Put slightly differently, it appeared in John Still’s play Gammer Gurton’s Needle (ca. 1565): “Take heed of Sim Glovers wife, she hath an eie behind her!” (2.2).
See also: back, eye, have, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- eat one's words, to
- go to one's head, to
- break one's neck, to
- bury/hide one's head in the sand, to
- end of one's rope/tether, at the/come to the
- feather one's nest, to
- keep an eye on, to
- ear to the ground, to have/keep an
- get one's teeth into (something), to
- give (one) the fig