1765 J. Garner 93 The Eye-starting Gems of virtuous Affliction.
1796 S. T. Coleridge Relig. Musings in 144 Fear, the wild-visag'd, pale, eye-starting wretch.
1904 (Ackworth Old Scholar's Assoc.) No. 23. 69 The eye-starting astonishment on the face of a boy in front of him so upset the lecturer's gravity that he could not proceed for some minutes.