In the first article of our new series “English Idioms for Newcomers“, let’s take a look at this expression: “more than meets the eye”.
What does “more than meets the eye” mean?
This idiom is used todescribe a thing or situation which:
- is not as simple as it seems to be
- is difficult to understand
- involves more things than you thought at the beginning
How to use it?
- Add “there is”: There is more than meets the eye.
- To specify what you are talking about, you can insert “to…, here or there”: more to this matter than meets the eye, more here/there than meets the eye
Examples:
- What a puzzling mystery! There’s definitely more here than meets the eye.
- In my opinion, there is more to her death than meets the eye. We have reason to believe she was murdered!
Before you go, check out our English Learning tips articles!
Immigrant Services Calgary offers online language assessment services and referrals for clients in the Calgary area and Southern Alberta. Want to get in touch with one of our newcomer language specialists? Answer a couple of questions to help us know you better! Feel free to chat with us online if you have any questions.
Word of the Day:
Idiom: an idiom is a phrase that has a non-literal meaning attached to the phrase.
Reference:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/more%20than%20meets%20the%20eye
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/theres-more-to-this-than-meets-the-eye
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-more-to-this-than-meets-the-eye
