An Anonymice commenter (below) suggests I get a dictionary, instructing me on the definition of the word "gimlet." I used the phrase "gimlet eye" in the posting immediately below, in this context: Police accreditation teams "must examine this [no-bid telecommunications contracting proposal] incident, and the redlight camera debacle, with a gimlet eye."
Look up "gimlet eye" in your dictionary, pal. You'll find the definitions: sharp-eyed, examining things with a sharp and penetrating stare.
Don't be so literal-minded about American idioms.
I first ran across the phrase "gimlet eye: when I was in high school, reading all of the books I could find by William F. Buckley, Jr., whose total mastery of the English language was a treat. "The Gimlet Eye" was the title of one of Buckley's column anthologies.
I've been studying business-government relations with a "gimlet eye" since the 1970s.
I've seen how mindless, maladroit and mendacious governments and businesses can be, and how the public gets screwed, blued and tattoeed when they collude.
Sometmes people say I use too many big words, or unfamiliar words. My riposte for that is the one that Aaron Sorkin put in the lips of his fictional President, Jed Bartlet, who replied to such a complaint from his staff: "They can look it up."
Here's looking at you, kid, with a "gimlet eye." Enjoy your time in Alabama. Try to take in some of the awesome civil rights museums there, and learn from history. Salud!
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