To look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight, or as a threatening expression.
The children squinted to frighten each other.
“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
2
To look or glance sideways.
3
To look with, or have eyes that are turned in different directions; to suffer from strabismus.
4
Figuratively To have an indirect bearing, reference, or implication; to have an allusion to, or inclination towards, something.
Yet if the following sentence means anything, it is a squinting toward hypnotism.1887, The Forum:
5
Scotland To be not quite straight, off-centred; to deviate from a true line; to run obliquely.
6
To turn to an oblique position; to direct obliquely.
to squint an eye
7
Look askance.
Congress clearly is squinting at the prospect of increased funding for the program.
Etymology Derived from asquint (“obliquely, with a sidelong glance”).
1
An expression in which the eyes are partly closed.
2
The look of eyes which are turned in different directions, as in strabismus.
He looks handsome although he's got a slight squint.
3
Informal A quick or sideways glance; a short look; a peep.
—And here she is, says Alf, that was giggling over the Police Gazette with Terry on the counter, in all her warpaint. —Give us a squint at her, says I.1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
"Better have a squint yourself," suggested Horace, withdrawing his implement and resigning the position. "Listening posts are more in your line by all accounts, inspector."1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
4
A hagioscope.
5
The angle by which the transmission signal is offset from the normal of a phased array antenna.
Radio transmission
6
Architecture An opening, often arched, through an internal wall of a church, providing an oblique view of the altar.