look askance
phrase

- to look at or think about someone or something with doubt, disapproval, or no trust.

- If you look askance at someone or something, you have a doubtful or suspicious attitude towards them.

Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The word "askance" has a fascinatingly murky etymology—it's one of those words that seemingly appeared in English without a clear ancestral line. Its first recorded use in English was around 1530.

A speculative theory suggests a derivation from Italian a schiancio meaning "obliquely" or "slantwise”.

What makes "askance" particularly puzzling is that it appears in English literature rather suddenly in the 16th century without clear precedent in Middle English or obvious borrowing documentation. It's as if the word itself arrived... askance—sideways and unexpectedly.

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ELOQUENT EMPTINESS
It serves us well to look askance at automatically generated text.

Spotting AI-generated text is getting harder, but certain patterns still give it away. The first is generic certainty: confident claims, but with no detail: “This approach is highly effective across many situations.” Effective how? Where? Why? For whom? If a statement sounds impressive but answers none of those questions, be cautious.

Next comes balanced but empty structure. AI favours neat lists, symmetrical phrasing, and tidy conclusions that feel finished without actually saying much: “There are several important factors to consider, each with its own advantages and challenges.” Remove this sentence—and notice how little changes.

Then there’s emotional vagueness. Human writing is specific, opinionated, sometimes messy. AI stays neutral: “I was annoyed when the meeting ran over and nobody decided anything” feels human; “The meeting exceeded its expected duration and lacked clear outcomes” doesn’t communicate frustration.

Finally, watch for polished repetition—you’ll often find the same idea returning in different wording, smoother each time, but no deeper.

If a passage sounds helpful yet leaves you with no concrete detail. Pause and read it again. The ultimate test? Does it sound like someone who's been there, or like a committee trying to offend no one?

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

a black mark, a cold reception (shoulder), a dressing-down, a jaundiced eye, a lack of endorsement, a rap on the knuckles, a slap on the wrist, a telling-off, a thumbs-down, a tongue-lashing, admonishment, animadversion, be in someone's bad books, be none too pleased with, being against, bite someone's head off, blast, call into question, call out, cast aspersions on, casting doubt on, censure, come down on (like a ton of bricks), condemnation, criticism, damn with faint praise, denunciation, deprecation, disapproval of, disdain, disfavour, dislike, disapprobation, displeasure, dissent, dissatisfaction, distaste, flak, frown upon, frowning upon, give someone the cold shoulder, give the flak, give the stink eye, give the thumbs down, knock, LOOK ASKANCE AT, look(ing) down on, meet with disapprobation, moral objection, negative judgment, not hold with, not think much of, objection, opprobrium, opposition, pan, pushback, raise an eyebrow (at), raised eyebrows, read the riot act, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprobation, reproof, resistance, scorn, shake one's head at, take a dim view (of), take a swipe at (issue with, to task), the evil eye, throw cold water on, thumbs down, turn(ing) one's nose up (at), withholding approval

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“LOOK ASKANCE at text that dodges concrete details —no links, no names, no numbers, just confident generalities,… are clear signs of AI generation.”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D

On evenings and weekends, I research and write your daily OWAD newsletter together with Helga—my lovely wife and coaching partner—and our eagle-eyed daughter, Jennifer.

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