eye-opener

See also: eyeopener and eye opener

English edit

From eye +‎ opener.

eye-opener (plural eye-openers)

(literally) Something that causes the eyes to open, or that opens the eyes.
(informal) Something that provides a sudden insight, or makes something clear that was previously mysterious.
(informal, idiomatic) A startling or shocking revelation.
A visit to the slaughterhouse was a real eye-opener to anyone who thought they understood where their food came from.
(informal, euphemistic) A strong alcoholic beverage, especially one consumed in the morning.
As soon as I got on the plane I asked the flight attendant for an eye-opener, but all he had to offer was orange juice.
(informal) An attractive woman.
- 1943 August 19, “It's high time you met ANN MILLER”, in Good Morning, number 106, London: Royal Navy Submarine Branch, →OCLC, page 1:
  Seems appropriate that Ann Miller should be in Columbia's "Reveille With Beverly." We've never seen anyone capable of "showing a leg" more attractively. At close range, too, she's an eye-opener.
- 1998, Charles Panati, Sexy Origins and Intimate Things, New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 274:
  A woman cycling in a skirt was a hazard to herself and an eye-opener for men on the sidelines every time she raised a leg or fell off her bike.
(The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

revelation