# Idioms equivalence, I am searching for "To look dagger at someone" in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049 "2026-04-05T18:43:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LAphofol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/laphofol/32/21003_2.png) [@LAphofol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAphofol)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/1 "2026-04-05T18:43:36Z")
Context in my first post : [Equivalents in other languages of "Eagle-Eyed" (someone with sharp vision)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalents-in-other-languages-of-eagle-eyed-someone-with-sharp-vision/1028964) I am now searching for other languages than French and English for this Idiom meaning “Looking angrily at someone, stare at someone with anger”. So english seems to be “To look dagger at someone” In french we have - Foudroyer du regard (To strike lightning with a glance) - Lancer des regards noirs (Throw black glance) What are other equivalents in other languages ? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/2 "2026-04-05T18:53:30Z")
The usual way in German is in my impression not a verbal phrase but the locution _Wenn Blicke töten könnten…_ (“if looks could kill…”) with the implied completion “… the person looked at would be dead”). As far as I know this is also used in English. ---
**Author:** ![LAphofol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/laphofol/32/21003_2.png) [@LAphofol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAphofol)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/3 "2026-04-05T18:57:15Z")
We also use this version in french. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/4 "2026-04-05T19:16:08Z")
> [@LAphofol](#): > > So english seems to be “To look dagger at someone” I’m guessing this phrase has a bit of regionalism to it. I’ve only ever heard of “staring daggers”, but I found this reddit thread: > **[Expressions in languages other than English, similar to "staring daggers" at...](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/sjx5v8/expressions_in_languages_other_than_english/)** > > I've read that nearly every culture shares the idea that eyes (especially when giving a dirty look) emit something that can be physically sensed/felt. English has a few phrases that convey this idea such as "staring daggers" at someone, or giving a... > In Italian (or maybe it’s more like a local saying) we say “fulminare con gli occhi/lo sguardo”, which literally means “strike with lightning with one’s eyes/look” > Russian: глаза мечут искры/огонь/молнии “the eyes are flinging sparks/fire/thunderbolts.” > Spanish: “le clavo la mirada” he stabbed him with his stare. It just means somebody is staring > in Korean from what I can recall, but one good one is 눈총을 쏘다, literally: to shoot eye bullets at someone ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/5 "2026-04-05T20:13:34Z")
‘Looking daggers’ is definitely a thing in English; we also have ‘give the evil eye’. We also have ‘give a black look’, but I would say that’s maybe less intense. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/6 "2026-04-05T20:16:40Z")
I’m not sure if it’s just a typo (twice) in the OP, but in English I’ve only heard “look daggers” (plural), not “look dagger”. Googling seems to agree. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/7 "2026-04-05T20:41:10Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Spanish: “le clavo la mirada” That is not correct Spanish, not even if you put the accent on the right place. That would be _clavó_ to make it the simple past tense of the verb _clavar_. Clavar means _to stick_ like a dagger into your back, or _to nail_ like a nail into a block of wood, or _to pin_ like a poster, among other meanings. Otherwise, without accent, it means “nail” like the metal thing you hit with a hammer, not the thing that grows at the end of your fingers (and you hit with a hammer too, but that hurts) and toes. The sentence suggested does not make sense in any of those cases, I would say it is simply wrong. You could say _fulminar (a alguien) con la mirada_. Fulminar stems from the Latin _fulminare_: to die instantly when struck by lightning. That is some magical thinking there! I can relate. The French _foudroyer_ already mentioned by the OP is obviously related. In German, apart from what **Mops** correctly observed, I can think of _jemanden einen vernichtenden Blick zuwerfen_, that is _to give somebody a withering look_. Sounds a bit weak by comparison, does not reach modern levels of lethality, perhaps somebody can think of something better. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/8 "2026-04-05T23:34:09Z")
English also has a “death stare”. ---
**Author:** ![LAphofol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/laphofol/32/21003_2.png) [@LAphofol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAphofol)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/9 "2026-04-06T05:33:21Z")
It’s a typo twice (french keyboard with autocorrect which know I use dagger in rôle playing games and never daggers) ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/10 "2026-04-06T05:47:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘Looking daggers’ is definitely a thing in English Brit here: I’ve heard ‘giving them daggers’ many times but ‘looking daggers’ is a knew one on me. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/11 "2026-04-06T05:53:00Z")
This is not quite so aggressive as “daggers” and it’s regional English, rather than a different language, though I’m guessing the English is probably a translation from Hawaiian. But here we say “to give someone the stink-eye.” It is …disapproving. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/12 "2026-04-06T11:43:47Z")
Or a “hard stare,” if you’re Paddington Bear. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/13 "2026-04-06T11:48:14Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Brit here: I’ve heard ‘giving them daggers’ many times but ‘looking daggers’ is a knew one on me. “Staring daggers” sounds more familiar to me than “looking daggers”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/14 "2026-04-06T12:19:09Z")
Google Ngrams seems to place ‘staring daggers’ as almost exclusively a 21st century phrase, whereas ‘looking daggers’ goes back to the early 1800s - with a dip in popularity in the 20th century although this could be sampling bias. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/15 "2026-04-06T12:35:31Z")
When somebody dies with their eyes open, is that a _death stare_ too before somebody mercifully closes them (they always do that in movies so it must be true)? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/16 "2026-04-06T12:37:54Z")
I’ve never seen it used that way, but then, I don’t interact much with dead bodies. I’m more likely to encounter it being literal, as a stare that causes death, in fantasy games or stories. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/17 "2026-04-06T12:41:59Z")
The Philippines has two national languages: Tagalog and English. There, an equivalent of looking daggers or staring daggers is to ‘make hard eyes at’ a person. So, yeah: hard eyes. ---
**Author:** ![LAphofol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/laphofol/32/21003_2.png) [@LAphofol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAphofol)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/18 "2026-04-08T06:01:47Z")
Thanks to you all. I have to show you the pictures I have made and the note that goes with it. (these links will expire in 2 weeks, so that when the photos will be published on my Instagram/Facebook, no one will be able to search for answers / spoilers) The Picture [![](https://i.ibb.co/1tL4BnJJ/1600-LEGO-EXP0646.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/1tL4BnJJ/1600-LEGO-EXP0646.jpg) The Note [![](https://i.ibb.co/rKyfkTGr/253-Mettre-De-Leau-Dans-Son-Vin.png) ](https://i.ibb.co/rKyfkTGr/253-Mettre-De-Leau-Dans-Son-Vin.png) ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/19 "2026-04-08T17:02:20Z")
From an American English point of view, I’ve never heard the term “to look daggers” so the thread title piqued my interest. I’ve only ever heard “staring daggers” as in “he/she was/is staring daggers at you/me/them”. I’ve never heard it as “to stare daggers” either. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049/20 "2026-04-08T18:47:35Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > But here we say “to give someone the stink-eye.” I also thought stinkeye. Why are you sniping me? is more of the shooting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idioms-equivalence-i-am-searching-for-to-look-dagger-at-someone-in-other-languages/1029049.md?page=2)