# have eyes in the back of one's head

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/have-eyes-in-the-back-of-ones-head
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To be particularly, especially uncannily, observant, as if able to see in all directions at once.

## Examples

- My teacher seems to have eyes in the back of her head.
- You cannot sneak snacks in class because the teacher has eyes in the back of her head.
- The veteran supervisor managed the chaotic warehouse with such precision that the workers joked she must have eyes in the back of her head.

## Origin

From Latin in occipitio quoque habet oculos ("she has eyes even on the back of her head"), from Plautus, Aulularia (The Pot of Gold), act 1, scene 1.

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