blink
blink / blingk/ • v. [intr.] 1. shut and open the eyes quickly: she blinked, momentarily blinded [tr.] he blinked his eyes nervously. ∎ [tr.] clear (dust or tears) from the eyes by this action: she blinked away her tears. ∎ [tr.] (blink back) try to control or prevent (tears) by such an action: Elizabeth blinked back tears. ∎ (blink at) fig. react to (something) with surprise or disapproval: he doesn't blink at the unsavory aspects of his subject. ∎ fig. back down from a confrontation: it seemed that the Iraqis had blinked and that the likelihood of an immediate invasion had decreased.2. (of a light or light source) shine intermittently or unsteadily: the icon for his e-mail was blinking.• n. [in sing.] 1. an act of shutting and opening the eyes quickly: he was observing her every blink. ∎ fig. a moment's hesitation: Thompson would have given her all this without a blink.2. a momentary gleam of light.PHRASES: not blink an eye show no reaction.in the blink of an eye (or in a blink) inf. very quickly.on the blink inf. (of a machine) not working properly; out of order: the computer's on the blink.
Blink
Blink ★★½ 1993 (R)
Recent corneal transplants allow blind musician Emma (Stowe) to regain her sight, but until they “settle” what she sees may not register in her mind immediately, a phenomenon the script dubs “retroactive vision.” This poses a problem for Chicago cop Quinn when he falls for Emma—the only one who can recognize a sadistic killer. Aver- age thriller has been done better before, but adds two attractive leads, enough sus- pense, and a unique twist to the typical woman-in-jeopardy tale to keep things in- teresting. The distorted images in Stowe's blurry vision were created by computer. Stowe also learned fiddle for her place as the fictional member of the real-life Irish-American band, The Drovers. 106m/C VHS, DVD . Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, Laurie Metcalf, James Remar, Bruce A. Young, Peter Friedman, Paul Dillon, Michael Kirkpatrick; D: Michael Apted; W: Dana Stevens; C: Dante Spinotti; M: Brad Fiedel.
blink
A. † deceive; start aside XIV;
B. twinkle with the eyes or eyelids; †glance XVI; cast a momentary gleam XVIII. prob. of mixed origin; partly later form of synon. †blenk XIV, var, of BLENCH; partly — (M)Du. blinken shine, glitter, which may be based on a nasalized var. of *blik- shine (see BLEAK2).