Round eyes a sign of not-understanding?

[leo12345]

Can we say in English: "His eyes were so round as if he understood nothing of what I was saying." ?

If not, is there another facial sign for not-understanding that is common in literature?

 

[Mrfatso]

Not A Teacher

In BrE we would tend to think of someone with ' round eyes' or 'wide eyes' as surprised, amazed or astounded. It doesn't have the meaning of a lack of understanding to me.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/round-eyed

'Slack Jawed' might be a way describe it, although that can also be used to denote surprise.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slack-jawed

 

[Skrej]

Same in AmE, it doesn't carry the idea of not understanding.

We do say 'glassy eyed' to sometimes convey an expression of non-comprehension.

 

[Eckaslike]

As a first language English speaker (but not a Teacher) I would agree with the previous comments. It doesn't work in In BrE. We have something similar to the AmE suggestion of "glassy eyed". We would say that someone's eyes "glazed over" as we were talking to them. In this context it would be a sign that either they were bored and had lost interest, or that the conversation was beyond their comprehension.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

… is there another facial sign for not-understanding that is common in literature?

Perhaps: My attempt to explain the situation was met with a blank expression.

However, I feel that this example, along with others that have been suggested, probably needs further explanation to make the meaning clear. Phrases like "blank expression", "furrowed brow", "glassy-eyed" could all mean incomprehension, but could also represent, in order, boredom, worry, exhaustion etc.

For example, "My attempt to explain the situation was met with a blank expression / furrowed brow / glazed look, he seemed to understand nothing of what I was saying".

 

[emsr2d2]

If someone doesn't really understand what you're saying but they're trying hard to make sense of it, they might frown with concentration. The person might look like this.

 

[Skrej]

Hmm, that seems more like a "I'm considering smacking you for that comment" sort of look. :lol: