side eye (side-eye)
noun-phrase or verb-phrase

- a sidelong glance or gaze especially when expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity

Merriam-Webster

- a look in which you move your eyes to the side without turning your face, showing that you are annoyed by someone, do not respect them, or do not believe what they are saying

Cambridge Dictionary

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ORIGIN

A side-eye is also called a sidelong glance, which

One of the earliest known uses of side eye is in a 1797 periodical, which refers to being “looked upon with a side eye.”

Charles Dickens uses the expression in his 1850 novel David Copperfield, and James Joyce in Ulysses 1922.

The verbal use, to side eye someone, goes back to at least 1916 and since the 2010s, has been much more commonly used in news and social media.

It’s a popular enough phrase to title at least two songs, the 2006 “Side Eye” by British singer-songwriter Julie Collings and the 2016 “Side Eye” by American R&B artist Rob Scott.

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TALKING POINT

Side-Eying Michelle Obama

On January 20th, 2017, ahead of the the Inauguration of Donald Trump, United States President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump gifted Michelle Obama with a Tiffany's box. Michelle seemed confused with what to do with it for a moment, and briefly glimpsed at a nearby camera in a fashion that some described as a SIDE-EYE.

The incident was one of several moments captured throughout the day when Michelle Obama appeared irritated by the proceedings, sparking many jokes on Twitter.