Word.ws English Dictionary

if looks could kill

if looks could kill phrase: used to characterize a look of strong hostility.

Phrase

if looks could kill

  1. Used to characterize a look of strong hostility.

Origin of if looks could kill

An anapodoton for an expression such as "If looks could kill, her look would have led to the death of the person she was looking at." A possible origin of the phrase comes from the legend of Medusa, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone.

Questions about if looks could kill

What does if looks could kill mean?
If looks could kill means used to characterize a look of strong hostility.
What part of speech is if looks could kill?
If looks could kill is a phrase.

Words near if looks could kill in the dictionary

  1. if it's all the same
  2. if it's not one thing it's another
  3. if it's the last thing I do
  4. if it's yellow let it mellow
  5. if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down
  6. if looks could kill
  7. if memory serves
  8. if money
  9. if moneys
  10. if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle
  11. if my grandmother had balls, she'd be my granddad

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: if looks could kill (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-if looks could kill.ogg.

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