He did not bat an eyelid…

Bhagat Singh did not bat an eyelid when his death sentence was pronounced.

“So, will I really become an expert at English speaking within 1 month?”, said Mahesh.

The pretty receptionist smiled and said, “We guarantee you that. Within one month you will be fluent”.

Mahesh knew she was lying but he was impressed with the way she could lie without batting an eyelid.

The target phrase is – not bat an eyelid.

The preceding snippet would have given you some hint about its meaning.

Let’s take some more examples:

1. Asgar looks so harmless but he can kill a person and chop him into pieces without batting an eyelid.
2. The boss asked Sudhir that he was fired. Sudhir did not bat an eyelid. He quietly took the file from the boss’s desk and walked out.
3. He did not bat an eyelid when his brave son was martyred for the country but the apathy of the government officials brought tears to his eyes.
4. She did not bat an eyelid when her mother told her that she was going to get married next month. However, a week later, she ran away with her boyfriend.

Batting an eyelid means giving a reaction or showing some emotion. If someone does something in a completely cool way, without displaying any emotion, you’d say he did not bat an eyelid.

Let’s close with some more examples:

1. Guru Govind Singh did not bat an eyelid when his sons were brutally massacred.
2. General Dyre did not bat an eyelid when he ordered his troops to fire on unarmed men, women and children in the Jallianwala Bagh.
3. Bhagat Singh did not bat an eyelid when his death sentence was announced. For the revolutionary, it was a dream come true.
4. He can lie without batting an eyelid and has an infinite greed. His friends joke that he has all the right ingredients to become a politician.