hold up a mirror to

English edit

Verb edit

hold up a mirror to (third-person singular simple present holds up a mirror to, present participle holding up a mirror to, simple past and past participle held up a mirror to)

  1. Alternative form of hold a mirror to
    • 1999, Adrian Franklin, Animals and Modern Cultures:
      We have always to interpret, to provide the meaning for what we see, and for that we can only draw upon human values, emotions and interpretations. When we gaze at animals we hold up a mirror to ourselves.
    • 2011, Naomi Ozaniec, Find Peace with Meditation: Flash:
      Through meditation we can learn to function in the capacity of a detached observer and hold up a mirror to our own behaviour.
    • 2014, Nndy Nenty, Observing What Is Not Happening: Second Autobiography, page 32:
      Let him hold up a mirror to himself and realize that he is the devil's numero uno servant.