# Jaundiced Eye?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 21, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480 "2003-06-21T21:33:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Susu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Susu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susu)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/1 "2003-06-21T21:33:26Z")

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I know how the saying is used. . . but where did it come from? Turning a yellow eye on something??? What gives?

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**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/2 "2003-06-22T01:24:10Z")

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[Brewer’s Phrase and Fable](http://www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/data/675.html) cites an Alexander Pope poem:

“All seems infected that the infected spy,  
As all seems yellow to the jaundiced eye”

i.e. a prejudice colours your perception of everything, just as if you were looking through a colour filter (there was an old belief that jaundice made everything look yellow).

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/3 "2003-06-22T02:29:28Z")

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**Pope** stole it from

> [@](#):
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> 1640 BP. HALL Episc. III. ii, Jaundised eies seeme to see all objects yellow, blood-shoten, red.

sayeth the OED. But Pope certainly gave it it’s modern usage and probably popularized it.

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**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/4 "2003-06-22T02:41:34Z")

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And the whole idea was Greek, recorded by Hippocrates a few hundred years B.C. The body had four humours (or fluids): blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile, the one that applies here. Disease showed that the humours were out of balance, and restoring that balance with tonics or bleeding would restore you to health. That health wasn’t just physical, but included emotional states as well.

Old medicine was interesting, but I’ll take penecillin, thanks.

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**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/5 "2003-06-22T02:50:29Z")

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And maybe a proofreading course along with the \*_penicillin_.

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**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaundiced-eye/183480/6 "2003-06-22T02:51:36Z")

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And a smack on the head to remind me to preview. ☹