scoate ochii

Romanian

Etymology

Literally, “gouge one’s eyes out”.

Verb

a scoate ochii (third-person singular present scoate ochii, past participle scos ochii) 3rd conj. (with dative)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly colloquial) to maliciously remind or criticise someone for his faults or errors [+ cu (fault)]
2. (idiomatic, somewhat less common) to try to impress [+ cu (object)]
3. (figurative, reciprocal) to fight bitterly
   • 2001, Mihai Andrei, De ce tocmai eu? [Why me?]‎^[1], Bucharest: Tritonic, →ISBN, page 40:

     Sigur, nu ne scoteam ochii când ne întâlneam […]

     Of course, it’s not that we’d gouge each other’s eyes out when we’d meet […]

4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see scoate,‎ ochii.

Synonyms

• (criticise): da peste nas
• (impress): da pe spate

Derived terms

• prinde orbul, scoate-i ochii

References

• scoate in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)