If-looks-could-kill Definition
phrase
(idiomatic) Used to characterize a look of strong hostility.
Wiktionary
Origin of If-looks-could-kill
In chapter XVI of Bram Stoker's Dracula in a diary entry of Dr. Seward, he notes about the undead Lucy Westerna that "If ever a face meant death--if looks could kill--we saw it at that moment."
From Wiktionary
An ellipsis (anapodoton) for an expression such as "If looks could kill, her look would have led to a murder of the person she was looking at."
From Wiktionary
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A possible origin of the phrase comes from the legend of Medusa, who had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone.
From Wiktionary
