stink eye n. a facial expression of doubt, distrust, or dislike; a dirty look; skunk eye, the hairy eyeball. Etymological Note: There is inconclusive evidence that this term originated in Hawaii and spread through beach sports such as surfing and volleyball. In Hawaiian stink eye would translate as maka pilau, which, according to the Hawaiian Dictionary at the Hawaiian Electronic Library, exists as a term meaning ‘rotten eyes, one with rotten eyes, a ghost.’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski insists that the names of modern Olympic sports resulted from changing one letter in the original names for each activity. For example, he says, the pole vault must have originated from an earlier sport in which participants...