Keep your eyes peeled. Has anyone ever said that to you? Perhaps that phrase has a bit of dust collected around the edges and may have been something you remember your dad or grandfather saying. It’s still used today, however, I can’t remember the last time I actually heard someone say it. And I’m certain that the phrase hasn’t slid over my lips for a very long time!
It’s a rather odd saying, isn’t it? If I’m told to peel an orange, carrot, banana, or apple, I understand what’s expected of me. Peeling my eyes sounds excruciatingly painful. If I did that, my eyes would cease to work.
We know what the phrase means. We are to be vigilant, watching for something in particular. “According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the idiom keep your eyes peeled means “to remain alert, be on the lookout; to watch carefully.” It began turning up in print in the mid-1800s, with the first known use dating to an 1844 issue of Atlas magazine: “The Whigs of Hampden must keep their eyes ‘peeled’, or they’ll lose that banner.”1
What is the origin, though, of this peculiar phrase? As with many phrases, the origin is a mystery, although there have been some suggestions worth noting.
“In America, the idiom was originally stated as keeping your eyes skinned. Its use is documented from 1833 in the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Frederickson: I wish I may be shot if I don’t think you had better keep your eyes skinned so that you can look powerful sharp…”2
“Another explanation contends that the phrase dates back to the early years of the
British police. Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel founded the first professional police force, the Metropolitan Police Force, in London in 1829. The police officers quickly adopted the nicknames “Peelers” and “Bobbies” due to the unpopular fact that they answered directly to Peel at the Home Office. Even today, the police in England are still referred to as “Bobbies” by their friends. Although Peelers is no longer in use, their founder’s advice may have influenced the phrase “keep your eyes peeled.”3
The Scriptures encourage us to keep our eyes peeled for something very special. Luke 12:37 says, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching…” The same encouragement is given in Titus 2:11-13, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” And Revelation 16:15 provides a great reminder to have our eyes peeled. Jesus said, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
It’s so easy to get our eyes diverted to the problems of life. Instead, we need to keep our eyes peeled, looking for Jesus in each situation. We need to keep our eyes peeled toward the sky, looking for His appearance in the clouds.
The Lord had some instructions that He often gave to His disciples. It would do us well if we heeded the same instruction as found in Matthew 26:41. Keep your eyes peeled! “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
1https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/keep-your-eyes-peeled-meaning-origins
2https://grammarist.com/idiom/keep-your-eyes-peeled-and-keep-your-eyes-skinned/
3https://www.theidioms.com/keep-your-eyes-peeled/#google_vignette
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