see into a millstone

English

Alternative forms

• see through a millstone

Verb

see into a millstone (third-person singular simple present sees into a millstone, present participle seeing into a millstone, simple past saw into a millstone, past participle seen into a millstone)

1. (archaic, idiomatic, colloquial) To understand a complex matter.
   • 1778, Frances Burney, Evelina, or: a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, Volume 1/Letter XXV:

     "Why, look'ee, Madam, if you must needs provoke me, I'll tell you a piece of my mind; you must know, I can see as far into a millstone as another man; and so, if you thought for to fob me off with another one of your smirking French puppies for a son-in-law, why you'll find yourself in a hobble, that's all."

   • 1872, Mary Anne Hardy, A Woman's Triumph, volume 1, page 218:

     "Why, mother, I should have thought you could see into a millstone as far as most people, and yet you can't see to the bottom of a foolish girl's heart."

References

• “millstone”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.