eye-opener
nounEtymology From eye + opener.
1
Literally Something that causes the eyes to open, or that opens the eyes.
2
Informal Something that provides a sudden insight, or makes something clear that was previously mysterious.
- A visit to the slaughterhouse was a real eye-opener to anyone who thought they understood where their food came from.
- That was a very big eye-opener for me, after being very cocooned, living most of my life in the city where I was born and raised.2013, R. Heppner, The Lost Leaders: How Corporate America Loses Women Leaders:
4
Euphemistic, Informal A strong alcoholic beverage, especially one consumed in the morning.
- As soon as I got on the plane I asked the flight attendant for an eye-opener, but all he had to offer was orange juice.
5
Informal An attractive woman.
Sometimes objectifying
- Near-synonym: eye candy
- Seems appropriate that Ann Miller should be in Columbia's "Reveille With Beverly." We've never seen anyone capable of "showing a leg" more attractively. At close range, too, she's an eye-opener.1943 August 19, “It's high time you met ANN MILLER”, in Good Morning, number 106, London: Royal Navy Submarine Branch, →OCLC, page 1:
1 more example
- A woman cycling in a skirt was a hazard to herself and an eye-opener for men on the sidelines every time she raised a leg or fell off her bike.1998, Charles Panati, Sexy Origins and Intimate Things, New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 274:
- Related terms
- eye-opening, open someone's eyes