eye-rolling

thumb|Emoji illustrating eye-rolling Eye-rolling is a gesture in which a person briefly turns their eyes upward, often in an arcing motion from one side to the other. In the Anglosphere, it has been identified as a passive-aggressive response to an undesirable situation or person. The gesture is used to disagree or dismiss or express contempt for the targeted person without physical contact.

== History == Eye-rolling has been present in literature since at least the reign of Augustus, appearing in book 12, line 939 of Vergil's Aeneid, "... volvens oculos...". William Shakespeare periodically would use the gesture in his works to portray lust or passion for another character, as used in his poem The Rape of Lucrece. In his time, eye-rolling was used commonly as an expression of desire or flirtation, and it continued to be used in his way in literature for centuries. Up until about the 1950s this same meaning was used in music and films, but began translating to the meaning known today.