deadeye

alternative dead-eye

1. not comparableVery accurate in shooting or throwing.

   Gross, only a 20-year-old junior, is a deadeye passer, a poised runner and a quick-thinking field general.

   1961 November 2, Jerry Green, “Gross Dwarfed, But Not in Ability”, in The Milwaukee Sentinel

   2 more examples

   Help in that department should come from highly touted freshman Jason Kapono, a 6'7" deadeye shooter who made 211 threes in high school.

   1999 November 15, Alan Shipnuck, “10 Ucla”, in Sports Illustrated, archived from the original on 28 Jun 2013

   The old man was a natural sniper, a deadeye shooter even as a boy, and he served with my great uncle in the First World War.

   2008, Gerald Vizenor, Father Meme, University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 94

2. not comparableconcerning a stareCold; unfriendly.

   The deadeye stare of the bassist was enough to make any normal person run.

   2004 July 28, Emma Field, “Sons and Daughters / The Archie Bronson Outfit, ICA, London”, in The Independent

   1 more example

   Outlandish in its violence and its conceit, "The Brave One" would be an interesting addendum to Foster's career even without its biographical frisson, without the image of Erica holding a gun with a deadeye stare […]

   2007 September 10, Manohla Dargis, “The real Jodie Foster, 100 percent professional”, in New York Times

plural deadeyes · alternative dead-eye

1. nauticalA wooden disk having holes through which the lanyard is passed, used for tightening shrouds.
2. A very accurate marksman.

   He taught both my mother and me to shoot, taught my mother so well that she became a better shot than he was--a real deadeye.

   1989, Tobias Wolff, This Boy's Life: A Memoir

   Synonyms: dead-eye Dick, Deadeye Dick

3. uncommonA penchant for noticing a particular thing, or a person who has such a penchant.

   Thirty-four years later, she was a tough CEO who went after Jimmy's detractors with a deadeye for the jugular.

   1999, Ann Rowe Seaman, Swaggart: The Unathorized Biography of an American Evangelist

   2 more examples

   He examined the cash balance daily, boasted he could pay off all debts in two hours, had a deadeye for fake figures in scanning a ledger, and personally audited the books each New Year's Day.

   1990, Ron Chernow, The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

   Manny's memory had always been an arch-phenomenon of mimcry ^([sic]); he was a deadeye for all the destructive details.

   2002, Lilly Paige White, Manny Lesko: The Erotic History of Estelle Antoinette Francine Chevalier, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 42