make a better door than a window

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English

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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make a better door than a window (third-person singular simple present makes a better door than a window, present participle making a better door than a window, simple past and past participle made a better door than a window)

  1. (idiomatic) To obstruct someone's view, especially as a result of thoughtlessness.
    • 1986, Tony Ardizzone, The Evening News, →ISBN, page 27:
      “You're blocking the picture,” Maria says. . . . “You make a better door than a window.”
    • 1996 February 20, Francis X. Clines, “Judgments On Politics, Primaries, Pancakes”, in New York Times, retrieved 18 July 2015:
      She griped fetchingly at a clot of news workers who blocked her view. "You make a better door than a window, kid," she told one reporter.
    • 2014 November 5, Jack Lakey, “Advertising poster blocks drivers' view”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 18 July 2015:
      An advertising poster on a transit shelter makes a better door than a window, when trying to spot oncoming traffic.

Usage notes

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  • Often used in the second person"You make a better door than a window" — as a tactful way of asking a person to move aside so that one may see.

Translations

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