Meaning
To react even slightly - to flinch, blink, or show surprise, alarm, or emotion. Almost always used in the negative, denying any visible reaction however shocking the circumstances. British English generally favours the eyelid form; American English more often uses 'eye' or 'eyelash'. Neutral register, at home in journalism and conversation; the negative is idiomatic, the positive is not. Regional use: General English.
Origin
Bat as a verb meaning to move the eyelids is recorded from 1847 in American English (Etymonline), an extension of the older falconry sense 'to flutter (the wings)' from the 1610s, itself a variant of bate. The figurative idiom treats a blink as the smallest possible outward sign of feeling, so to deny the blink is to deny any reaction at all. Citation collections trace the full expression to Edgar Beecher Bronson's novel The Vanguard (1914): 'before Cox could bat an eyelid'. It is a negative-polarity item: positive statements such as 'she batted an eyelid' are rare and sound odd.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- bat an eyelash
- not bat an eye
- not bat an eyelid
- without batting an eyelash
- without batting an eyelid
Usage Examples
- The surgeon announced the unusual complication without batting an eyelid, which calmed everyone in the room.
- When the subscription price doubled overnight, long-time customers didn't bat an eyelid; they simply switched providers.
- She heard the astonishing rumour about her neighbours and did not bat an eyelid until the door had closed behind her.