make a better door than a window

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

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

• 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

Translations

• French: ton père n’est pas vitrier (fr), t’es pas transparent (fr)
• Portuguese: não és transparente
• Spanish: la carne de burro no es transparente