cause some raised eyebrows

cause some raised eyebrows

To elicit shock, surprise, or offense, typically through unconventional actions or words. The phrase typically suggests negative attention or judgment. Her irreverent chatter during the ceremony caused some raised eyebrows. My best friend's pink hair definitely caused some raised eyebrows at our very strict school.See also: cause, eyebrow, raised

cause (some) eyebrows to raise and cause some raised eyebrows

Fig. to shock people; to surprise and dismay people. (The same as raise some eyebrows.) John caused eyebrows to raise when he married a woman half his age. If you want to cause some eyebrows to raise, just start singing as you walk down the street.See also: and, cause, eyebrow, raise, raised

cause raised eyebrows

Also, raise eyebrows. Cause surprise or disapproval, as in At school his purple hair usually causes raised eyebrows. This transfer of a physical act (raising one's eyebrows) to the feelings it may express took place in the early 1900s. Lytton Strachey used the term in The Eminent Victorians (1918): "The most steady-going churchman hardly raises an eyebrow at it now." See also: cause, eyebrow, raised