Examples of use:
“We also had tortilla (£4.90), patatas bravas (£4.50) and fries (£2.50), all of which were good but to be honest, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, so we probably over-ordered.”
“I was also ‘spoilt’ by my granny who always had cookies and sweets for me when I went to see her – so it was a case of my eyes being bigger than my belly – until that got bigger too.”
It is also sometimes used to describe someone committing to more than they can manage:
“Then all of a sudden, just like me when I refuse to choose between cheesecake, chocolate mouse and key lime pie, his eyes became bigger than his belly and the metaphorical souffle went flaccid.”
This expression is believed to date from the late 1500s [1].
[1] “eyes are bigger than one’s stomach, one’s” in The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.
Photo credit: Gordon Joly
No comments:
Post a Comment