face that launched a thousand ships, the

An exceptionally beautiful woman; or, ironically, someone lacking in beauty. The phrase comes from Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus (c. 1588), and describes Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Greece, whose legendary beauty led to her abduc- tion by Paris, which set off the Trojan War. “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?” wrote Marlowe.

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eagle-eyed

Keen-sighted, either literally or figuratively. Like all birds of prey, eagles of necessity have excellent eyesight, which they need to spot their food supply. Their perspicacity has been transferred to human beings since Roman times. Horace pointed out (Satires, 35 B.C.) that those who are eagle-eyed in spotting others’ faults are blind to their own. “Faith, being eagle-eyed, can . . . see the majestie of God,” wrote Bishop William Barlow
in 1601. Later the term was often put as having an eagle eye.

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