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every shut eye isn't asleep

every shut eye isn't asleep proverb: one must be careful, because some people who seem not to be paying attention are actually paying attention.

Proverb

every shut eye isn't asleep

  1. (especially African-American Vernacular) One must be careful, because some people who seem not to be paying attention are actually paying attention.
    • The other girls appeared to be sleeping through it as well, but there's an old saying that says every closed eye isn't sleeping.2006, Sabrina Nixon, Victims of Change, →ISBN, page 150
    • “Hi, Daddy. I thought you were asleep.” “All closed eyes aren't sleep, baby,” he said, and peeped at his watch.2007, Monica McKayhan, Indigo Summer, →ISBN, page 125

Questions about every shut eye isn't asleep

What does every shut eye isn't asleep mean?
Every shut eye isn't asleep means one must be careful, because some people who seem not to be paying attention are actually paying attention.
What part of speech is every shut eye isn't asleep?
Every shut eye isn't asleep is a proverb.

Words near every shut eye isn't asleep in the dictionary

  1. every point of the compass
  2. every rose has a thorn
  3. every rose has its thorn
  4. every rule has an exception
  5. every second
  6. every shut eye isn't asleep
  7. every silver lining has a cloud
  8. every single
  9. every single time
  10. every so often
  11. every step of the way

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: every shut eye isn't asleep (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-every shut eye isn't asleep.wav.

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