Illustration of opera glass
opera glass
noun
: a small low-power binocular without prisms for use at the opera or theater —often used in plural
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Newspaper ads of the day reveal a motley tenant roster that included the Sons of Temperance and an auction house selling odds and ends like seashells, opera glasses and pistols. 
John Freeman Gill, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019 Eager to try out daguerrotypy, a photography method that had been invented just two months prior, Cornelius set up a large box camera with a lens fashioned from a pair of opera glasses, according to the Library of Congress. Scottie Andrew And Brian Ries, CNN, 21 June 2019 The black enameled opera glasses were recently acquired by M.S. Rau Antiques, a shop on the French Quarter's Royal Street. Fox News, 28 Sep. 2018 The magenta curtains were elegantly poised as if concertgoers were attending a proper theatrical performance begging to be seen through opera glasses. Heran Mamo, Billboard, 1 June 2018 Also among the Annenberg show’s 440 images is an 1839 self-portrait by Robert Cornelius, who built a camera with a box and lens from a pair of opera glasses to create an early selfie. Steve Appleford, latimes.com, 18 May 2018 Each reached inside their jackets — Key for a pair of opera glasses to hurl at the advancing lawmaker, and Sickles for a Derringer. Robert Mitchell, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2018 The downside to that basic, spy-in-the-stands technique is that the risk of discovery is high; opera glasses are pretty well-camouflaged at the opera but tend to stick out in the grandstand. Steven Goldman, Slate Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017 Contemporary guidebooks warned European tourists against sharing their opera glasses with Egyptians, implying that the simple act of borrowing binoculars could result in disease. Peter Schwartzstein, Smithsonian, 24 Apr. 2017 See More
John Freeman Gill, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019 Eager to try out daguerrotypy, a photography method that had been invented just two months prior, Cornelius set up a large box camera with a lens fashioned from a pair of opera glasses, according to the Library of Congress. Scottie Andrew And Brian Ries, CNN, 21 June 2019 The black enameled opera glasses were recently acquired by M.S. Rau Antiques, a shop on the French Quarter's Royal Street. Fox News, 28 Sep. 2018 The magenta curtains were elegantly poised as if concertgoers were attending a proper theatrical performance begging to be seen through opera glasses. Heran Mamo, Billboard, 1 June 2018 Also among the Annenberg show’s 440 images is an 1839 self-portrait by Robert Cornelius, who built a camera with a box and lens from a pair of opera glasses to create an early selfie. Steve Appleford, latimes.com, 18 May 2018 Each reached inside their jackets — Key for a pair of opera glasses to hurl at the advancing lawmaker, and Sickles for a Derringer. Robert Mitchell, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2018 The downside to that basic, spy-in-the-stands technique is that the risk of discovery is high; opera glasses are pretty well-camouflaged at the opera but tend to stick out in the grandstand. Steven Goldman, Slate Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017 Contemporary guidebooks warned European tourists against sharing their opera glasses with Egyptians, implying that the simple act of borrowing binoculars could result in disease. Peter Schwartzstein, Smithsonian, 24 Apr. 2017 See More Word History
First Known Use
1738, in the meaning defined above