|
Reader question: Please explain “raised eyebrows” in this sentence: Charlie Sheen has been getting a pretty bad rap lately, his unique life-style has earned him plenty of raised eyebrows and some admirers. My comments: Here, the “raised eyebrows” refer to people who disapprove of Sheen’s behavior, i.e. people who react with raised eyebrows. Put another way, Sheen, the American sit-com star, has raised many eyebrows with his “unique life-style”. Other people admire him for the same reason (that he’s unique) but “raised eyebrows” is the facial expression we’re concerned with here. And facial expression it is, too. You see, whenever we hear something unusual, our eyebrows rise (curl up). Often involuntarily, raising eyebrows is our natural physical reaction to shocking events. It means, like, am I hearing this right? Are you sure? Is it possible? Linguistically, therefore, this expression is often used when one hears or sees something that’s surprising or shocking to them, especially when it comes to something they disapprove of. Yes, that’s the thing to remember. If something raises eyebrows, it usually causes distaste. In other words, people don’t like it. There are many examples. The Web is in fact replete with people whose behaviors raise eyebrows with other people. And so without further ado, let’s examine some: 1. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the queen of Hollywood weddings, passed away on March 23rd, 2011. From movies such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? alongside one of her husbands, actor Richard Burton, and National Velvet with costar actress Angela Landsbury, the motion picture icon raised a few eye brows each time she would get involved in a new marriage. | 
